Weather the Storm
by stargazr
Summary: The Winchesters run into an old family friend who is experiencing some of the same things they did as children. Can they figure out why she's being targeted and save her from whatever it is? DeanOFC, AU Chapter 30last chapter! posted October 3rd.
1. Chapter 1

_AN: Hello! And welcome to my first ever venture into Supernatural-fanfic. This little thing has been in my head for quite awhile now, it's just been finding the time to sit down and type it all out. So I hope you all enjoy the story and be sure to let me know what you think!  
_

* * *

_  
Flashback_

_"_Dean! Come out and play already!" The call from outside the window came too early for the eight year old. He'd been comfortable, warm and he felt like he'd just gotten to sleep. Sighing he crawled out of the bed, sparing a glance at his four year old brother. Sam was sprawled out in his bed, one arm and one leg hanging off the edge, his mouth wide open as he slept soundly. Oh how Dean wanted to pull a prank...

"Dean!" Came the little girl's voice again, shaking Dean out of his reverie. He shook his head as he made his way over to the window, pushing it open a little way's.

"What'd you want? I was sleeping!"

The little girl, a brunette with her bangs hanging in her eyes, stood in the yard with her hands on her hips. She looked indignant. How dare he sleep when there was prime play time to be had? "So! Come on and play. We're losing daylight here Winchester!"

He shook his head but closed the window with a smile on his face. He grabbed his sneakers and started from the room, he could already hear his father milling about. Behind him, Sam was starting to stir finally.

Pulling his shoes on, Dean yelled something to his father that sounded like "gottagoplaybebacklater". To which, John Winchester shook his head and watched as his oldest darted out of the house. It wasn't two minutes before he could hear the familiar sounds of Dean and his little friend running around.

Oh to be a child again..

* * *

_Present_

He woke with a start, his heart pounding. Palms sweaty. The room was dark and he blinked a couple of times, trying to focus. Where the hell had i that /i come from? He hadn't thought of her in years. In fact the last time he'd seen her, he was 16...Sammy was 12. Rubbing a hand over his face, Dean pushed the blankets down his legs and stood from the bed.

Sam was on the other bed in their dingy motel room, sleeping away. He'd always been able to sleep through just about anything. Dean shook his head as he made his way to the bathroom, least his brother didn't have to witness another one of Dean's random dreams.

Sometimes they were nice, memories of being a kid and getting to act like one. They'd only stayed in a few places for more than a week, one of them being a small town in Oklahoma. Their dad had a friend, a fellow hunter, who had a family and had an extra bit of land with a small house on it. John had brought them there after a particularly long hunt. He was tired, mentally and physically exhausted. He decided that his kids needed something of a 'normal' existance for a bit. Dean was eight, Sammy was four. They were so young, too young to be seeing the things they had already.

Other times the dreams were more like nightmares. Memories flooding back of things they'd seen and destroyed. Vampires to ghosts to...anything else. Sometimes they were both kids again and sometimes they were the adults they'd grown into. Sometimes he couldn't save Sam from the demon. And every time he couldn't save their father.

Sam was snoring away as he made his way into the bathroom, a little jealous that Sam could sleep through a damn hurricane and he couldn't even go back to sleep after a dream about some girl he'd kind of grown up with. Shaking his head, he bent over the sink as he turned it on, letting the cold water wash through his fingers. It was frigid against his warm skin but it felt nice at that moment. Staring at himself in the mirror after splashing water on his face, he sighed. "Dean...you look like shit." He said to his reflection.

Unfortunately his reflection didn't answer back but the dark circles under his eyes were a telltale sign of his exhaustion. They'd been working non-stop, driving from town to town, fighting off whatever _thing_ they were after. All for the greater good. All to find that damn demon that had taken so much from them already. Wandering back into the main room of the hotel, Sam was still sound asleep. Dean smiled to himself some as he crawled back under the covers. His eyes slipped closed before he could even really think about it, although his dreams were invaded by _her_ again.

* * *

_Flashback_

"DEAN!"

The yell...no, screech really, pierced his ears and every other sense. He pulled back from the hot redhead in front of him and looked back at her. The brunette, with the bangs hanging in her face and the bright blue eyes. Oh and the pissed off look on her face. If looks could kill...a sixteen year old Dean Winchester would be six feet under at that point in time. He looked back at the redhead...god she was hot. She was the type of girl who'd most likely been around the block more than a few times. Rumor had it that she'd slept with the entire football team and he wouldn't put it past her. Sally Majors was hot, especially hot for a 16 year old.

For some reason Dean Winchester didn't look the least bit surprised that he'd gotten caught. In fact, he looked sort of happy about it. Proud even. Still, he felt a twinge of guilt that he ignored as he looked at Lucy. She was standing there with her hands on her hips glaring right at him even though she was a good five inches shorter than him and a year younger than him. She was that girl in that Oklahoma town that him and Sam had grown up with.

They were in Oklahoma for a year before they were on the move again but John had brought his boys back so that Dean could finish high school. Sam was just into junior high but already was wiser beyond his years. Lucy had grown up quite a bit in the time they'd been gone. Now both her and Dean's hormones were raging and they'd been doing some sort of weird teenage version of "dating". Although Dean never said it was dating. Dating meant it was serious and well...he was never serious about anything other than hunting. Even at 16 he was inwardly afraid that something would happen to any future relationships. So...he just never had any relationships. Except for Lucy. Kind of.

Sally disappeared down the street, probably to find the next football player to hook up with. Leaving him alone with a very pissed off 15 year old girl. Lucy looked like she was inbetween seething and crying, although no tears had appeared quite yet. He would be screwed if she started crying, he didn't know what to do when a girl cried! "Nat..."

She narrowed her eyes at the nickname only he was allowed to call her. "Dean Winchester, how could you!"

"Come on Lucy, not like me an' you are gonna go get married or anything."

Her hands dropped to her sides and she looked a little wounded. "Yeah but..Sally Majors? Come on Dean."

"What? She's hot!" He said it as if it was an obvious fact. It _was _obvious but to Lucy she was the enemy. She'd gotten the attention of Dean Winchester. The boy she'd had a crush on ever since she could remember.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Yes she has boobs the size of California, it's great."

"Like I said, ain't like we're getting married. Plus you're more like a sister than anything. Me and you? We haven't even kissed!"

Oh she was pissed now. And Dean should've known what was coming next. He'd known Lucy forever! He'd taught her everything she knew. So he definitely should've seen the fist coming straight at him.

And he did once he was lying flat on his back on the sidewalk, his left side of his face throbbing from the punch. "Fuck you Dean Winchester!" She growled and took off running in the general direction of their houses.

He was in shock. No, he wasn't in shock that she'd hit him because...well, even he could admit he kind of deserved that. No he was in shock because she'd just busted out the word "fuck" when he'd never heard any sort of four letter word come out of her mouth before!

And that was the last time he talked to her.

* * *

_Present_

Sam straightened out the button-up shirt he'd pulled on, glancing at the tv as it played some local news station. He couldn't remember quite where they were at the moment. They'd finished a job in northern Ohio and were winding their way back towards the southwest. He just wished they could take a little breather, even though he wouldn't tell that to Dean. Dean had been complaining that they needed a break for months now while Sam had been the one pushing jobs on them. He had thought that every job they did got them that much closer to the demon but it wasn't seeming like that anymore.

Dean came out of the bathroom, wearing jeans and a t-shirt. "So..where we off to today boy wonder?"

Sam rolled his eyes as he shoved his computer into his bag. "Shut up, bitch."

"Jerk."

He smiled as he shoved some of his clothes into his bag before glancing back at his little brother. "Hey...you remember when we lived in Oklahoma?"

Sam was quiet for almost an entire minute and Dean was beginning to think that he hadn't heard him. "Uh yeah I think so." He finally answered. "We lived next to that one family, they had a daughter?"

"Uh huh."

"Yeah I remember them...why?"

Dean shrugged as he slung his bag over his shoulder. It was nearing check-out time and he wanted to get on the road already. "I don't know. Just was thinking about them."

His younger brother gave him a strange look but didn't say anything as he finished packing. They had hours on the road ahead of them, which meant there was plenty of time to bug Dean about why he'd randomly started thinking about a girl he hadn't seen or seemingly thought of in years.

* * *

_Flashback_

He stared out the window, watching as she held a shotgun in her hand. She was shooting at cans lined up on a fence about fifteen feet away. But even from where he stood, Dean could tell she was still pissed. Part of him couldn't blame her. She _had _caught him kissing Sally Majors. He'd been about to go outside to talk to her when his dad came bursting in through the front door. "Dean we're leaving" was all he said and then he was moving again, yelling for Sam to start packing. Dean was torn, between moving his butt to pack up his stuff and staring at Lucy who'd finished shooting at cans and was not just standing in the middle of the field. He wanted to talk to her. Hell, he even wanted to apologize for being a complete dick to her.

He was about to go out the door, to at least quickly apologize, when 12 year old Sam came stomping down the stairs. He was just at the beginning of the awkward phase every kid went through, where their arms and legs were too long and too big for their body. Where they were just gawky and couldn't seem to fit in to anything or anywhere. Sam had a pissed off look on his face, dragging a duffle bag behind him. "Dean we gotta go."

Dean sighed and with one last glance out at the brunette in the field, he turned and hurried up the stairs.

That was the last time he saw her.


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: thanks to those who have commented on the first chapter! The third is about half written and as soon as I can get it edited, it should be posted:)_

* * *

They were outside of Boise, parked at a gas station to fuel up when Sam's phone rang. He leaned back against the passenger side door of the Impala, watching Dean inside the small gas station. Pulling the ringing phone from his pocket, he held it up to his ear. "Hello?"

Dean was carrying more junk food than one person should be able to as he came out of the gas station. He halfway hoped that Sam didn't ask him how much he'd spent on candy, chips, soda and other junk food because...well, he'd spent more than a normal human being should have. And if Sam knew how much he spent then he'd never hear the end of it. And then, Dean would have to kick Sam's ass just out of annoyance. Sam's mouth was set in a thin, firm line and he looked more worried than normal which was good for Dean because he was able to stash the junk in the backseat without him saying a word.

Dean straightened up, leaning onto the roof of the Impala. "Hey what's with the emo depressed little boy look?"

"Bobby called me."

He raised an eyebrow in his brother's direction but that wasn't all that surprising. Sure, Bobby didn't call them all that often or anything but he did when he caught whiff of trouble or needed their help. "Okay...and that's supposed to worry me?"

Sam let out a sigh and turned to face his brother over the top of the car. He glanced around in case there were any prying ears or eyes. "There was an attack. In Oklahoma last week."

"Sam just spit it out, is it a job?"

"No. We've got to go to South Dakota to see Bobby, pick up something."

Dean was about to reach over the car and throttle his little brother. Sometimes Sam was too vague for his own good. "And just what are we picking up?"

"The attack in Oklahoma, it was in that same town we lived in as kids."

He frowned a little at that, that was a bit too much of a coincidence. "Okay?"

"The two parents were killed, in a house fire."

"And the kids?"

"_Kid_. Lucy."

His heart dropped some and his frown deepened. "Lucy? You serious?"

"Yeah. Bobby said she showed up on his doorstop three days ago and told him what happened. She had no where else to go. He did some looking into the fire, said he thought it was along the same lines of what happened to mom and Jess."

Dean shook his head, "Yeah but...she's obviously not six months old."

"That's where the pattern ends, I guess."

"So what are we going to do once we get to Bobby's?" Dean moved to get in the car, motioning for Sam to do the same. If they were going to make it to Bobby's in decent time then they needed to get moving.

"I guess see what she's got to say...see if we can help."

He sighed as he started the car and pulled away from the gas station. "Doesn't sound like we can help when the thing already got her parents. Sonofabitch."

Sam was staring out the window as trees and fields started to roll past them. "Yeah but it's probably still after her. There's a reason why it went after her parents."

"It doesn't fit the pattern at all. Is she sure it's the same thing?"

"No. But Bobby thinks it sounds like the yellow-eyed demon."

Dean shook his head. This didn't exactly sound like it fit the motive like the other fires had. It had to be something else, it just had to be. But god no one needed to go through what they'd gone through as kids. Dean could still smell the house burning in his mind, even though it'd been so damn long ago. Lucy's parents had been nice to them when they were kids, always seemed to be happy. Her father was a hunter and had gone on a few trips with theirs. He'd taught her how to fire a shot gun and throw a knife. Her mother was the type that knew what her husband was doing (and killing) but never said a word. She always had cookies for the kids and would lend an ear or a shoulder when needed. Lucy's mom sort of filled the void that Sam and Dean both had.

"We gotta find that asshole and made sure to send him to hell. He's taken too much already."

Sam nodded his head in agreement. You didn't have to tell him twice.

* * *

It was a long, boring and tiring drive but the Winchesters finally pulled up in front of Bobby Singer's house. It was well off the beaten track and while it looked run down on the outside, both Sam and Dean knew what the house held inside. Bobby wasn't letting anything bad or evil anywhere near his house. They got out of the car and walked up to the front door, each taking a few seconds to take in their surroundings. Dean was about to knock on the door when it flew open, revealing the older, disheveled man that had hunted alongside their father. 

Bobby eyed Sam a little critically as they made their way inside the slightly darkened house. "You're not possessed this time, right?"

Sam rolled his eyes and tried to look a little offended but he couldn't blame Bobby for asking. After all, it wasn't everday a Winchester was possessed by a demon and tried to go kill every hunter they could find. "Nah-"

"Yeah he's his same old normal, geek-boy self," Dean interjected with a grin.

Sam shot him a look that clearly said 'shut up' but Bobby just laughed as he ushered them inside.

They'd been expecting to find Lucy in the main room of the house but it looked empty. Dean frowned as he looked around, books and newspapers lined the coffee table and the couch but there was no sign of human life besides...well, the three of them. Sam looked at the older man, "I thought you said she was here?"

"She is. I put her upstairs, managed to sneak a couple of sleeping pills into a drink. Poor thing's just exhausted." Bobby said as he motioned for the two to sit down on the couch.

Dean sat down on one end and Sam was next to him. Dean glanced over one of the newspapers, finding an obituary about Lucy's parents. "So what happened?"

"She hasn't said much, to be honest. She wasn't there when the fire started. Said she came home, found the place smoking and went inside to get her parents. Both were upstairs in the master bedroom, her father was on the floor and her mother...well..guess you could figure that part out."

Sam swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat. He rubbed a hand over his face. "It doesn't fit the pattern.."

"That's what I thought. But Lucy swears up and down that's how it happened."

"How'd she get out?" Dean asked.

"A neighbor saw the fire and rushed inside, grabbed her and drug her out the front door. The place was engulfed not long after that. I dug up some articles about the fire but the authorities are saying it was electrical. Said something about faulty wiring."

The brothers shared a look before Dean opened his mouth again. "Yeah and in what universe would Robert have faulty wiring in his house?"

Bobby nodded his head in agreement. "I know. I knew both of them very well. She showed up here still covered in soot babbling about a demon got her parents. Robert told her if anything happened to come find me."

"And she did." Sam said softly.

He nodded again, "She looked like she hadn't slept at all. I didn't want her gettin' sick or whatever. That's why I found the sleeping pills and slipped them into her drink. She should wake up in a couple hours."

"Guess we get to work until then." Sam said before he stood, going out to the car to retreive his laptop.

Bobby waited until Sam was gone before he turned his attention to Dean. "How's he doing?"

Dean shrugged a shoulder but glanced at the door as if his little brother was going to come barreling back through the door any second. "Not too bad. He..doesn't talk about it much."

"He'll come around. Just be sure to keep those charms on you both."

Dean cracked a smile but nodded his head. "Yes sir."

Bobby sighed and went into the kitchen, "Want a beer?"

It was probably a little early to start drinking but Dean figured, what the hell! Might as well get it going. They'd probably be working through the night putting together the pieces anyway.

"Yeah sure," He replied after thinking it over for a moment.

* * *

_Flashback_

He could remember their first kiss together. He'd been 15, her 14 years old. They'd been living in Oklahoma for almost a full year at that point but him, Sam and Lucy acted as if they'd known each other forever. She was a few inches shorter than Dean, although she was still gangly and awkward as she grew into her seemingly new body. Her and Dean were walking through a small neighborhood park on their way back from a movie in town. It wasn't anything even remotely close to being a date, it was just two friends out to see the latest gory horror movie. It was still fairly warm that night as they walked, the sun just beginning to dip down below the horizon. But no, it most definitely wasn't a date. Even if John Winchester had teased them both a bit as they'd left earlier that day. What did parents know anyway?

But Dean's hand kept brushing against hers as they walked through the dusk. She was going on and on about one particular scene that had been especially gross. Finally Dean took the plunge, grabbing her hand finally and lacing their fingers together. Lucy had stopped talking abruptly and stared at him before she just shook her head. She didn't say anything about how his hand was warm and a little sweaty, mostly because she didn't want to ruin the moment. It was a nice moment, holding Dean Winchester's hand. The two kept walking. He had no idea why he was so damn nervous around her. He was _Dean Winchester_. He never got nervous, ever. Hell, he'd been hitting on chicks since 12 years old! Had kissed a couple too but Lucy didn't need to know that.

Once they reached the sidewalk that ran in front of both of their houses, he did the gentlemanly thing and walked Lucy to her house first. John had always taught Dean that he had to walk a lady home from a date (even when it wasn't really a date) and even if it was just next door. It was the polite thing to do. Dean had never exactly had the best manners but that night, he'd remembered.

She'd looked pretty that night, her dark hair and her light eyes against the dark backdrop of the house. Her mom would be inside reading, her father out chasing the latest hunt. He kept going back and forth in his head, should he do it or should he just go on home? She was standing there a little expectantly but didn't make a move. And finally, after a too long moment, Dean leaned up and pressed his lips against hers.

He hadn't expected a response from her really because it wasn't like he knew that Lucy had any feelings for him. She didn't respond for another too long moment and he thought for sure that she was going to pull back and slap the living hell out of him. But, then she moved, practically pressing herself against him as she kissed him back.

They pulled back after kissing for what had to be an eternity in teenage years. Dean could've sworn that Lucy was blushing but it was hard to tell as it was getting pretty dark. She mumbled something and turned to go inside. Once she was inside and the door had closed behind her, he caught one last glimpse of her before he turned to make his own way home.

He grinned all the way to his house after that and all that way inside. John had looked at his oldest and recognized the cheesy, romantic far-away look in Dean's eyes. He'd had that once before...

Instead of teasing Dean about it, he just smiled and shook his head, motioning for him to get upstairs and get cleaned up. It was late, after all and morning would come quickly.

* * *

_Present_

Dean stretched his arms over his head, listening as muscles pulled and bones creaked. They'd worked right up until sundown. Bobby and Sam had disappeared to get food. Dean stayed behind, "just in case", and was now wandering through the house.

They'd stayed there a few times as kids and he'd always been nosey, searching through things to find something he'd deem as cool. Or cool enough to scare Sammy at least.

He was sore as he walked upstairs quietly, careful not to make much noise. Lucy had yet to wake up and he figured she could use all the rest she could get. Part of him wanted her to wake though, to see her again. To make sure she was okay. It was a relative term, especially when a child loses their parent(s) but..he had to make sure she was i okay /i .

One room at the end of the hallway stood empty except for a chair near the window with a shotgun next to it. Bobby was always prepared for anything. He stepped inside and moved to the window, staring out at the vast blackness behind the house. He could remember playing back there as a kid, dragging Sam out there to play whatever game he came up with randomly. They hadn't had a normal childhood by any means but at least there were a few times when they'd gotten to act like kids.

She could hear the footsteps in the hallway. They didn't belong to Bobby. She'd come to know his gait, how his shoes sounded on the stairs versus the downstairs. No this was someone else. Something else. She moved out of the bed slowly, quietly. She was trying to listen, to see if whatever or whoever it was was going to try to come inside the room. She was going to kill Bobby for making her sleep. She was fine damnit. Sleep was for the weak.

She wrapped her cold fingers around the doorknob and turned it slowly before pulling the door open just as slowly. It was dark, which meant she'd been asleep all damn day. The hallway was too dark to see anything, even though her eyes had adjusted to the darkness quickly. How could Bobby let something in the house? It was going to get her. It was going to take her like it had her parents. She was going to see Hell up close and personal.

Her heart was pounding so loud she was sure that whatever it was could hear it. Whatever it was was going to reach in and grab her, she could _feel _it. Her hands had gone sweaty too, feeling like she couldn't gripe the door to save her life.

A movement caught her eye in the dark and she swung the door open all the way. Her knee came out, connecting with something soft yet firm. Whatever it was grunted in surprise. Then it was her turn to yelp in surprise as she was knocked back into the bedroom, landing hard on her back.

"What the fuck was that for!" The whatever it was growled as it held her pinned to the floor.

She squirmed underneath it, the hands on her felt like fire to her cold, clammy skin. She was sure this was it...this was her end. 26 years old, what an age to go at!"

"Stop! Lucy!"

Her eyes shot open, having not realized she'd closed them. How did it know her name? And why did it sound totally human? She stopped struggling and squinted up at the figure who was now straddling her middle. What an compromosing position this was..

The figure let out a sigh and another grunt as it stood, feeling around the wall for a light switch. Bright, white light flooded the room and for a moment she was blinded. Once she could open her eyes without wincing, she looked up at the figure who'd nearly scared the hell out of her. Jean covered legs, gray t-shirt with a leather jacket over it. Freckles on his nose, green eyes, blonde hair. She narrowed her eyes, now she was certain she had gone crazy.

"Dean?"

"Yeah now don't punch me like you did last time I saw you." He said gruffly as he held a hand out to her.

Lucy eyed the hand momentarily before she put her smaller one in it. Dean pulled her up and immediately went about making sure she hadn't hurt herself. Her blue eyes followed him slowly, her head was still a little fuzzy from whatever Bobby had given her. Finally his eyes met hers and he offered a small smile, "You okay?"

"What are you doing here?" They'd been...teenagers the last time she'd seen him. Did he know? Well, how would he know? Unless...

"Bobby." He looked uncomfortable as he dropped his head down. "I'm uh sorry...'bout your parents."

"Yeah..thanks. Why did he call you?" She rocked back on her heels some, looking down at the floor as if she wanted it to open up and swallow her whole. She didn't want to talk about it and definitely didn't want to think about it. Thinking about it made her want to cry and crying was for the weak. She'd done that enough lately as it was.

Dean rubbed the back of his neck. "Look we got a big job ahead of us, why don't we worry about that later. Okay?"

She nodded, "okay. Next time don't sneak up on a girl like that."

"Yeah well, next time I'll remember to wear a cup." He mumbled as he turned to go towards the staircase.

And for the first time since she'd found her childhood home ablaze, Lucy smiled.


	3. Chapter 3

He noticed that she looked absolutely exhausted as the two of them made their way downstairs and to the living room. But Lucy kept swearing she was fine. She refused his offer for something to drink or even anything to eat. Other than a "no thanks" or an "I'm fine", she didn't say a word. She'd refused a drink or anything to eat. She just sat there with a worried and lost look in her eyes. Dean tried to entertain himself by looking over stuff on Sam's laptop, looking for any clues for...anything. He glanced over at her over the top of the laptop screen. She was sitting on the couch with a newspaper in her lap but didn't look to be actually reading it.

She felt eyes on her and looked over, catching Dean staring at her. It was so strange seeing him after all this time. Obviously he'd grown up...but he still looked a bit like the boy she'd known all those years ago. A little harder, a little rougher around the edges. His eyes held a haunted look but Lucy guessed she had the same look now. She smiled some and set the paper down next to her. "You know, I never really thought I'd see you again.."

"Yeah? Why's that?" He asked as he dropped his eyes back to the computer screen. He didn't want her to think he'd been staring or anything.

"I don't know." She shrugged as she stretched her legs in front of her. "Your dad always brought you all in and out of town so quickly.."

He visibly tensed at the mere mention of his father and tried to hide it but Lucy caught the movement of his shoulders. She rambled quickly, "I..Bobby told me about you...your dad. I'm sorry Dean.."

"Yeah." He answered.

Lucy looked around, looking a little confused as she realized they were alone in the house. "Is your brother with you?"

Dean nodded even though she wasn't looking at him at the moment. "Yeah. Hell, last time you saw him he was...12?"

"Mmhm. Skinny little gawky thing."

He grinned, "He hasn't changed much. Just grown about three feet taller than me."

She laughed at that before she stood from the couch. "Really? I have a hard time believing that for some reason."

"I'm serious! Dude is unfortunately way taller than me and it sucks. Know how hard it is to act all big brother when your little brother towers over you like an ogre?"

"Whatever I'm not an ogre, jerk." Sam answered as him and Bobby came through the door with food and other provisions.

Lucy turned and saw Sam, her jaw dropping open. She remembered him as a little kid on the verge of becoming a teenager. Smart, cute boy who always followed Dean around wanting to do everything the 'big' kids were doing. Dean was right though. Sam had grown about thirty feet it seemed, towering over everyone in the house. He still held a hint of the teenage/kid gawkyness even though he was well into his 20's now. He shot her a smile as he came closer and Lucy realized just how much taller he was compared to her. "Hey Luce.."

She had to crane her neck to see him practically! And his smile was infectious. "Hey Sammy. Who said you were allowed to grow up? Geez you're tall."

He laughed softly as he made his way into the kitchen, followed closely by Dean who had abandoned the laptop. "Well someone has to make Dean's life difficult so...guess that's me."

Dean snorted, "Yeah for real."

* * *

Everyone crashed after food and drink entered their empty stomachs. Lucy had finally eaten something as she sat around listening to Dean and Sam pick on each other and tell stories. And as tired as she was and knew that she needed to rest, sleep was evading her.

The sun was just beginning to appear over the horizon as she sat outside on Bobby's front porch. Things looked as if they were starting to wake up as birds started to make their morning chirping noises and things began to take on color. Lucy sighed softly as she pulled her legs up underneath her. She'd gotten to forget about everything for a few precious minutes. It'd been nice. It'd been nice to reconnect with friends from her childhood.

God, how they had grown. Sam was an adult now, she could barely believe it! She first met him when he was barely out of the toddler stage, seen him again at the beginning of his teenage years and now he was a bonafide adult. Dean had always been a little more older than his actual age, having to hold his family together even as a child. He'd always been a bit of a smartass, been a little more tough than he should've had to be. He cracked jokes and picked on his brother but Lucy could tell both really cared for the other, would do anything to protect each other.

The door opened with a small creak and she looked over, slightly startled out of her thoughts. A sheepish looking Dean appeared, smiling at her as he padded barefoot out onto the porch. His jeans were slung low on his hips and the grey t-shirt he was wearing was wrinkled from sleeping. "Hey.." He said softly as he moved to sit down next to her. "Can't sleep?"

"Nope. Well, I haven't tried yet or anything."

He cracked a smile as he leaned back, his green eyes darting out over the yard as the sun continued it's ascent into the sky. Things were becoming brighter by the minute and the birds were getting louder as they began to wake. "Maybe you should?"

Lucy let out a sigh, "Everytime I close my eyes I see the house burning. Smoke pouring out of the windows and the smell as it burned everything. I ran inside, found them and...tried to get them out."

Dean turned towards her some, his brow furrowing some as he remembered that lone dark night when the same thing tore his family apart. "You didn't see anything other than them, right?"

"Right. It all happened so fast. I'd been visiting for about a week before it happened. I got scared that I was the next, that it was after me. That's why I came to Bobby. I didn't think it was safe to go back to my own place."

He nodded, "that was a good idea. Look, me and Sam will help as much as we can. We want to kill whatever this thing is and make sure it can't hurt anyone else."

"Bobby mentioned that Sam's girlfriend was killed the same way?"

"Yeah.." Dean crossed his arms over his chest as he looked back out at the yard. "He won't talk about it anymore. It felt like he used to all the damn time. Now he just closes up about it."

"Maybe he's healing."

"Maybe."

Lucy shook her head as she stood, stretching her arms over her head to loosen the kinks in her shoulders. She'd been sitting there for far too long. "I cannot believe _that _is your little brother. He was such a runt as a kid."

Dean smiled as he watched her. "Yeah I know. Kid shot straight up like a beanpole." His eyes dropped to the sliver of skin shown as her shirt rode up from her arms stretching over her head. He licked his lips a little unconsciously and then mentally shook himself. What the hell was he doing?

"You know, I never forgave you for the Sally Majors thing."

"Huh?" Oh smooth move Dean. Sound like a complete idiot. He blinked but nodded his head. "Oh yeah...that."

"Did you ever talk to her after that?"

"Nah. We left pretty quick, went on to New Mexico."

She nodded as she sat back down next to him. "You think it ever goes away, the hurting part?" She asked sort of suddenly. Thoughts were running through her head at breakneck speed which is why she switched from subject to subject so quickly. But there was so much she wanted to ask, to find out.

Dean had to think for a moment. She'd switched subjects so quickly he wasn't totally able to keep up. He didn't like to talk about his father's death, it still felt too real and too raw. After all, it hadn't been all that long ago. And he didn't want to show any kind of emotion. Emotion would show a weakness and he couldn't do that. "I...don't know. I think it might lessen over time."

She sighed softly as she moved to pull her legs up underneath her. "It's just weird to not be able to go home and hear my dad laughing at the tv. Or have my mom be in the kitchen cooking whatever."

"I still remember the way my mom smelled. Like cotton and some kind of soap." Dean had said it so quietly that Lucy wasn't even sure he'd said anything. It wasn't everyday Dean Winchester talked about his mother. She couldn't really remember him talking about Mary Winchester for more than a fleeting moment.

"What about your dad?"

A small smile formed at the corner of Dean's mouth. "He loved working on cars. I always remember that about him. Even after the fire, something would go wrong with the Impala and he'd be out there all damn day working on it. He'd always end up covered in grease and oil."

She nodded her head. John Winchester had always been a bit of an enigma to Lucy. He seemed larger than life, with a booming deep voice that could put the fear of God in anyone. Then a thought occured to her. If the same thing had come after her family that had destroyed the Winchesters, maybe...

"Could I...come with you two...when you leave?" She asked after a long moment of silence.

Dean's head turned so quickly she was sure he'd have whiplash. He'd never thought about anyone else joining them. It'd always been him, Sam and their dad. Well, now it was him and Sam but still. They had a dynamic that was hard to beat, adding in a third person...a woman of all people...that might throw a wrench into everything.

He folded his hands in his lap as he thought it over. The urge to protect her was overwhelming. She couldn't stay with Bobby forever and they didn't know if the demon was after her next or had just gone after her parents. They didn't know anything at that point. He finally answered with a simple, "I don't know Luce. We're not in the same place for longer than a couple of days."

She nodded, "I know. But if you're out to find the thing that killed your mom and Sam's girlfriend, then it's the same thing that killed my parents. I want to help. And you know I can hold my own."

He knew all too well. She could punch with the best of them, shoot better than any hunter he'd seen and could throw a knife with better precision than even he had. Sighing, looking exhausted suddenly, he rubbed a hand over his face before standing from the porch. "Let me talk it over with Sam." He could hear his little brother in his head now but maybe it would be good to have a third. A third to have their backs, while they figured this all out.

"That's all I can ask for." She smiled some at him, watching as he moved towards the door. "Heading to bed?"

"Yeah I think I could use a couple hours of sleep." He stopped just inside the door, glancing back at her. "You could too, you know. You look like hell."

"Thanks Dean, is that how you attract a girl?" Lucy rolled her eyes but stood up, following him inside.

He grinned some as he shrugged. "Yeah what can I say? The ladies love me."


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: Thank you for all the kind reviews! I appreciate it, especially since this is my first time posting in the SPN universe ;) I just now got all the backlog of e-mail notifications (thanks my inbox nearly exploded) so I'll get to replying to everyone soon! _

* * *

Sam stared at his brother as if he'd grown a third head on his shoulders. Was he insane? Why in the world was Dean all for taking a _girl_ with them when they left Bobby's? Okay, that sounded slightly sexist and he was well aware of it. It was just that it'd always been the Winchesters. First it was their dad and them, then it was just Dean and their dad since Sam had left to go to Stanford. Now it was just Dean and Sam. Of course he knew that Lucy could take care of herself, her father had made sure that by the time she reached school age she could shoot a gun and kick anyone's (or anything's) ass. But she was in an odd sort of place now. Sam knew the kind of revenge she was wanting, he just wasn't sure that he or Dean could really protect her if it came down to it.

He honestly figured that Dean's immediate answer would be 'no'. He knew what kind of things they ran into on a nearly daily basis as it was, adding in a third person could end up detrimental to them all. So why was Dean all for taking Lucy with them?

Sam gave him a grin before he started laughing. "I know why you want her to come with us."

Dean looked irritated and frustrated as he stared at his laughing mess of a brother. Why the hell was he laughing? This was supposed to be a serious conversation! "Yeah and why's that, geek boy?"

"Quit calling me that first of all."

"Yeah yeah, why do you think I want her to come with us?" He stood with his arms crossed in front of him.

"Because you have the hots for her," Sam said matter-of-factly.

Dean snorted and shook his head as he moved around his brother. "That is so beyond ridiculous. Look, she wants to help. Maybe she can help with research and all that. And she's good with a gun."

"And the first time something bad happens, you're going to flip out. Dean, we can't be sure that we can protect her." He turned to follow Dean, nearly running right into him.

"It's not like Bobby can keep her here forever either, he can't be sure that he can protect her. If this thing is after her then it's better she's with us." He shrugged a shoulder as if it were the most obvious answer to everything. "And I do _not_ have the hots for her."

"It'd be the first time you weren't chasing after something that wears a a skirt."

He rolled his eyes as he moved out of the room. "Shut up Sam."

* * *

_Flashback_

John Winchester had always been tremendously intimidating to her. He was tall, broad shouldered and carried the memories of things Lucy couldn't even have imagined. Sure, she knew what her own father did, he'd done it all her life. But it'd never affected her or her mother. Hunting was one thing, family was another. So when the Winchesters rolled in, Lucy found herself unable to utter a single word to the larger than life eldest Winchester. Sure he was nice enough to her but he also didn't say very much either. Just introduced her to Dean and Sam and then the kids were all off playing while the adults discussed...adult things.

She'd never met anyone before that didn't have a mother. When she was little, she just figured that everyone had a mother somewhere or another. Her mother was the kind that stayed in the kitchen, cooking practically all day long. Maybe that was why she always smelled of cookies. Lucy had only seen her mother handle a gun once. Once late at night while John and Robert were out on a hunt. Something was outside and her mother had stayed near the kitchen window with a shotgun. That was the only time Anne had held a gun in front of her child.

Her and Dean had been allowed out with Robert and John as they practiced shooting. She'd been inbetween Dean and his father. Of course, Lucy had been learning about guns and knives since she was about old enough to walk. John had looked more than a little surprised when she hit the bullseye on the first try. It'd taken Dean three tries. But John had just smiled and reached down, clapping a strong hand on her shoulder. After that day, Lucy found she wasn't as intimidated by John Winchester. In fact, after that he'd become a sort of second father.

* * *

_Present_

Dean stopped in the doorway of the room Lucy had been staying in. She was flipping through the newspaper from that morning, glancing up when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. "Hey," She said softly. She folded the paper up and dropped it onto the floor next to the bed. "What's going on?"

He shook his head as he moved inside. "Nothing really. Just got done talking to Sam. Reading anything interesting?"

"Nope. Same old boring stuff, just a different day." Lucy smiled as she made room on the bed for him to sit. "You talked to Sam?"

"Yeah." He sat down next to her, turning towards her some. "You know we can't promise that you'll be protected. And we don't exactly stay in the best places or anything."

"I know all that. I don't expect the Hilton Hotel chain or anything and I know you two can't protect me without jeopardizing yourselves. I just want to help. And hey, three people are better than two."

He cracked a smile at that and nodded his head. "You're right in that aspect. Are you sure you want to come along? We don't shower, I'm sure we smell and we sure as hell don't get along a lot of the time."

"Do you _still _pick on him? He could squish you with his pinky, Dean."

He laughed, "Yeah but I'm the big brother. I could kick his ass, if I really had to."

Lucy laughed, shaking her head. "One day that'll backfire on you.."

"Hey he's already gotten a few punches and he's shot me...twice." Dean shrugged a shoulder, "I think we're pretty much even for the moment."

"He's shot you. Twice?" She turned towards him more. "And you're still riding in the car with him?"

"He's riding in the car with _me_. And it was rock salt the first time and well...the second time it wasn't exactly him." He didn't really want to get into semantics or detail with Lucy at the moment. Not that he didn't want to because for some reason he felt like he could spill everything to her but because, he wasn't totally ready to deal with it. Him and Sam had barely talked about his demonic possession. It was one of many unspoken things between the brothers.

She just nodded but didn't press the issue. "So is it going to be a big deal if I do come with you all? I mean, _really_."

"I don't know. It's always been us and our dad or...just us. So I'm not sure how this will all work. But, if you're set on coming then we won't stop you." He sat back against the headboard of the bed, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. "But like I said, I can't promise we'll be able to protect you if something happens. But I also know that you can handle yourself."

A smile formed at the corner of her mouth as she nodded again. "I want to. I want to help and find this thing."

"Do you need to go by your place...wherever that is?" Dean had turned all-business suddenly. They were looking to leave in the next day or so for a stop by the roadhouse to check in with Ash. But if they were going to have to head to Lucy's place first then who knew how long that could put them behind.

She laughed softly, "Uh probably. I mean, I've got my clothes here and all that other stuff. I was living outside of Austin so I mean...we don't have to do it right away, just on the way."

Dean moved to stand from the bed. "I'll let Sam know so we can make plans. We were going to stop by the roadhouse, see this guy named Ash. He'd been doing some research on the demon."

"Where's this roadhouse at?"

"Nebraska."

"Well then, guess I need to get packing." Lucy smiled and watched as Dean left her room.


	5. Chapter 5

Lucy was following Bobby around the house, she'd gone on a sandwich making spree once she'd finished packing up the few things she had with her and wanted to make sure that he had plenty to eat. Bobby had no idea what it was about women that made them go on some kind of cooking spree when they found out they were leaving and he wouldn't admit that he liked it, but he humored Lucy as she told him where everything was. The thing about it was that he was going to miss having someone in his house, besides him and the dog. Lucy had come there broken in pieces and while he was sure that she had a long way to go, he was already seeing some of the spitfire girl come back to life. It'd been years since anyone had been in his house as a permanent fixture so Bobby was definitely going to miss the action and the feeling of another human being in his house. Even having the boys back (and this time without anyone being possessed) had been nice.

Sam was standing in the doorway, Lucy's bag at his feet as he waited on her. Dean sat in the driver's seat of the Impala, not so patiently waiting for the two of them. Sam laughed softly as he watched her move around the kitchen with Bobby following her every move. Finally Bobby looked at Sam, "you gonna take her before she just moves right in?"

He shrugged but bent down enough to pick up her bag. It was heavy even though she said she hadn't brought that much with her, other than a few little knick knacks she'd been able to salvage from her parents' house. "Hey I'm not doing anything because I know she could probably lay me out on the floor."

Lucy laughed softly as she moved towards Sam. "Okay okay, I get the hint. I'm going, I promise."

"Hey.." Bobby caught the end of Lucy's shirt and reached out, pressing something into her hand. "You take care of yourself, you hear me?"

She smiled and for a moment, Sam was afraid Lucy was going to start crying. She hugged Bobby suddenly and just as suddenly pulled away, thanking him quietly and walked over to Sam. She took her bag from him and let him lead her out of the house.

Dean looked out of the window as his brother and Lucy made their way down the front steps and to the car. She tossed her bag into the back before she crawled inside and Sam got into the passenger side of the car. "It's about time you two."

"What, did you find a few gray hairs while you were waiting?" Sam asked.

"It wasn't that long!" Lucy piped up from the backseat.

"Whatever. Let's just get going. I talked to Ellen while you two were in there doing the soap opera goodbye thing, said we'd stop by." Dean looked in the rearview mirror as he started up the car and started to pull away from Bobby's house. "You ever meet her? Ellen Harvelle?"

Lucy thought it over for a moment before shaking her head, her eyes drifting some to look out the window as the scenery began to move faster as he accelerated the car. "I don't think so, no. The name's not familiar. But I didn't know everyone my dad came into contact with her. Who is she?"

Dean and Sam shared a look with each other before Sam turned some so he could see Lucy better. "Well..it's quite the story...," and he began to tell the story of the Harvelle Roadhouse.

* * *

She rubbed the back of her neck where a crick was forming as she wandered around the small gas station. They'd stopped to fill up the Impala after driving for what felt like forever. Sam and her had gone inside to buy some snacks, with Lucy heading back towards the cooler where the sodas were. At least while in the car listening to Sam and Dean tell stories about previous hunts and even listen to them bicker over what music to play next had kept her from thinking about her parents too much. At least she didn't have to think for the time being and for that little peace, she was thankful.

Sam wandered back to the cooler where she was, his arms full of various kinds of chips, cookies and the ever important chocolate. She laughed when she saw him, "Did you buy the entire store?"

He grinned as he leaned over the cooler, trying to decide on what to get himself. "Not quite. I left a bag of chips or two."

She reached in and grabbed two sodas, then looked up at him. It still amazed her that _this_ was little Sammy Winchester. He towered over her and Dean, which was hilarious in many ways. "What'd you want to drink? I'll grab it for you."

"Just grab a coke, that'll be fine."

Lucy nodded and grabbed another soda, then the two headed up to the front to pay for their purchases. Sam counted out some cash to pay for their snacks and for the gas, handing it to the older man behind the register. They then wandered outside where Dean was just finishing filling up the car. "Damn Sammy, did you buy the entire store?" He asked when he saw them both carrying armloads of stuff.

Sam and Lucy shared a look before laughing as they got into the car. As Lucy passed him his soda, Sam had to admit that maybe...this wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

As they crossed into Nebraska, Sam had fallen asleep in the front seat while Lucy was stretched out in the backseat flipping through a book she'd found on the floorboard. Dean had the radio playing lowly in the background, it sounded like some old rock station. Sighing, Lucy sat up and set the book down next to her as she moved until she was behind the driver's side. Dean glanced at her in the rearview mirror and smiled some, "I figured you'd be asleep. Geek boy over here has been out for awhile."

"I was reading some book on the floor..guess it's Sam's?" She asked as she leaned up towards the front to see him better.

"Probably." He nodded as he fought to keep his eyes on the road. It was a little distracting for some reason to have Lucy that close to him. "You doin' okay and stuff?"

"Yeah. I'm tired but...well, you know I don't sleep." She shrugged a shoulder before sitting back. "So how much longer?"

"Couple hours, give or take. Ellen's expecting us pretty late though so no worries."

"She knew your dad?"

"Apparently. Her husband and dad hunted together. She's got this roadhouse where hunters hang out, brag about their hunts and all that. She's given us a few cases and this guy, Ash, has been helping us with the demon."

"And...who's Jo? I know Sam mentioned her."

Dean bristled a bit at the name but tried to cover it up. "She's Ellen's daughter," was all he said on the matter.

Lucy nodded as she sat back all the way against the seat, inhaling the scent of the leather seat. "I keep trying to remember if my dad ever mentioned someone with the last name Harvelle but I can't. I'm sure that he did if your dad knew the guy. And you two just met Ellen?"

"We did after the accident. Sam found an old voicemail from her on one of dad's phones. But like I said, she's helped us out a few times."

She nodded again and moved to sit up. "Thanks..for letting me tag along."

He smiled at her, shaking his head. "Luce, it's no problem. I told you that already."

"Still. I just wanted to...you know, tell you." She shrugged a shoulder before smiling, "so this Jo chick...you two..?"

"Uh no." He glanced away from her again, stealing a look at his little brother. If he didn't know better he'd swear that he saw Sam's mouth twitch but the younger Winchester didn't move. "She's...you know, cute but...I don't know. Look, do we have to talk about this? Because the last time me and you talked about another girl, I distinctly remember you punching me."

A smirk pulled at Lucy's mouth and Dean could tell that she was remembering the whole Sally Majors thing...a little too fondly, at that. "Man that was a pretty good punch," She said.

He laughed but had to agree. He had a black eye and the whole side of his face had throbbed for almost two weeks. "Yeah I've never met a girl who could hit like you. I mean, seriously, I was afraid I couldn't get a girl to even look at me after that."

"You deserved it."

"Eh...yeah. I'll agree." Even Dean could agree that he had some asshole tendencies and had for years. "I would say I've learned my lesson but..."

"You haven't." She said, meeting his eye in the mirror.

He laughed, "Maybe I have now."

"Mmhmm. We'll see." She gave him a smile before settling back to open up the book she'd been reading.

* * *

Somehow, the roadhouse was exactly how Lucy had envisioned it in her head. It was set off a dirt road a bit, rundown and slightly unwelcoming looking. It was definitely the perfect place for hunters to hang out at. The Impala was the only car in the lot as the three of them got out, each taking a moment to stretch their tired and sore limbs. She hung behind the boys as they made their way towards the door. They, of course, made themselves at home before they even went inside. Dean shoved the door open first and the other two followed closely behind. The first thing she noticed was how dark it was inside, it was hard to see anything or anyone. In fact, Lucy couldn't see anything at first and stumbled right into the back of Sam. He gave her a strange look, "you okay?"

She was blushing furiously for whatever reason and nodded her head. "Yeah sorry, I wasn't paying attention.."

He nodded and they all looked up as the back door swung open, revealing a short woman. She grinned when she saw the boys, "Well it's about time you showed up! I was beginning to think it'd be tomorrow."

"Yeah well Dean drives like an old woman," Sam said with a grin as he moved towards the bar, sitting down on one of the stools.

Dean opened his mouth to say something but shook his head instead. Oh it was going to be on. If Sam wanted to play, then he'd play along. Ellen noticed Lucy hanging back some and gave her a smile. "You must be Lucy."

She nodded her head, "yes ma'am."

Ellen waved her hand around. "Oh don't call me ma'am, that makes it sound like I'm old. Call me Ellen."

Lucy decided then and there that she liked this Ellen woman. She was small but she didn't seem to take any crap. She waved the two of them over and Dean and Lucy took the seats next to Sam. "Ash is in the back but I told him you would be stopping by. I don't know if he's heard anything though."

"Heard from Jo lately?" Sam asked as Ellen handed him a beer, then gave one to Dean and Lucy.

"The other night actually. She's working up in Minnesota still, sounds like it's really working out."

Sam just nodded his head. He'd been a little preoccupied with being possessed the last time he saw Jo. He could remember bits and pieces of what had happened, although some of it was a little blurry. Dean hadn't been very forthcoming with details, not wanting to talk about more than he had to. Dean cleared his throat as he took a drink of his beer, setting the bottle down onto the counter. "So Ash has some information?"

Ellen shrugged a shoulder. "Not sure. I'll go get him though. You all make yourselves at home though."

Dean and Sam exchanged a look but didn't say anything until Ellen had disappeared from the main room. Lucy noticed the look and rolled her eyes as she slid down off the bar stool, holding onto her own beer. "How do you two do that?"

"Do what?" Both guys asked in unison.

She laughed, shaking her head. "Okay, that? That was hilarious."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Lucy.."

"No but I don't get how you two can talk to each other without even saying a word. I'm highly jealous of that little ability, but I guess it comes with being siblings." She shrugged a shoulder as she wandered over to the jukebox. "Think Ash has any leads?"

"Well if he does, I hope it takes us near Texas so we can head to your place." Dean rubbed the back of his neck before leaning over the counter, grabbing a newspaper to look over as he sat back.

* * *

They didn't take Ellen up on her offer for a place to stay that night. Instead they got what little information Ash had and headed out, wanting to make Texas as soon as possible. They drove for a few hours before finding a small hotel off the interstate. It'd do for them to sleep in. This was the part that made Lucy a little nervous. It wasn't like any of them were exactly rolling in cash. Was she going to be in a room with the two of them? And how would the sleeping arrangements work?

Her questions were answered when Dean came out of the lobby and handed her a key. "Got you your own room. I don't want you to have to deal with Sam's snoring."

Sam looked offended, "I don't snore Dean!"

She laughed and looked grateful. "Thanks. How much was it? I've got some cash on me."

He shook his head as he got into the Impala again and drove around to the back of the hotel. It was an older property but he had to admit it was a little nicer than some of the places they'd stayed in before. He'd gotten rooms that adjoined, just in case anything happened and the three of them had to make a quick getaway. Plus he wanted to be able to keep an eye on Lucy, just in case. "Don't worry about it," He said before he parked the car.

They dragged their things out of the back of the car and into their respective rooms. Lucy glanced around as she turned on the lamp on the small table. The wallpaper was a dark red while everything else was in a dark blue. It made for a very dark room but it looked comfortable. And as much as she didn't want to sleep, part of her hoped she would be able to that night. Just to get a little bit of rest. She'd just set her bag down on the lone twin bed when she heard a knock at the door that adjoined the two rooms. She unlocked her side and pulled it open, finding herself face to face with Sam. He smiled, "Hey I'm gonna go grab something to eat. Want a burger? Fries?"

That sounded good to her so she nodded in the affirmative and grabbed her wallet, shoving a couple of bills into his hand even though he protested. "Sam, hush. Just get me a cheeseburger and fries and a drink."

He finally nodded and turned to grab the car keys. "Dean she's already bossing me around!"

She laughed and turned to go back to her bag.


	6. Chapter 6

_AN: so thank you all for the kind reviews and for taking a chance on a new fic! I'm glad you all are liking it and I'm enjoying having a new character to kind of keep Dean and Sam on their toes. Chapter 7 is in the works, and should be posted soon :)  
_

* * *

Dean had found that there were two versions of Sam. Before Stanford-Sam and After-Stanford Sam. Before Stanford-Sam could sleep through a hurricane. He'd sleep sprawled out on a bed, even after he'd grown far too tall and long for the small twin beds they usually slept in. But After Stanford-Sam had taken some getting used to. Of course he'd was dealing with his girlfriend's death, so Dean had expected his little brother to have some problems. After all, he'd had the same problems as a four year old after the fire that killed their mother. After Stanford-Sam woke many times in the night, gasping for air as if something was choking him. Dean was sure he'd even heard him crying a few times. But Dean didn't mention that he knew any of that to Sam. He wasn't even sure if Sam knew that he woke up too whenever Sam had a nightmare. It was one of those unspoken brother things that Dean wouldn't bring up to make fun of him for.

It'd taken awhile though. It'd taken awhile for Sam to get back to a little of what he was before Stanford. But Dean would be lying if he thought that a major part of him was happy when Sam finally stopped having nightmares as much. In fact, he welcomed the nights when Sam would be snoring away across the room, obliviously dreaming about whatever it was that Stanford students dreamt about. Dean just hoped that maybe it was something good for once, that his little brother could quit suffering.

So that night, as the two of them tried to get some much needed rest, Dean found himself not even able to drift off. Usually he was out like a light. He thought it was just that Sam was over on the other side of the room snoring up a storm but that wasn't it. Okay that might've been part of it but the major part was that he could hear movement in the room adjoining theirs. Dean lifted his head enough to glance at the alarm clock on the nightstand in between his and Sam's beds. 4:43 a.m.

He groaned inwardly. The sun would be making its ascent sooner rather than later. And Dean knew he'd be doing most of the driving. And he also knew that to do most of the driving on very little sleep, he was going to have to consume mass quantities of caffeine. He closed his eyes as he laid his head back against the flat pillow of the uncomfortable hotel room bed. He was going to sleep if it was the last thing he did, damnit.

But it didn't work. Ten minutes later, at 4:53 a.m., he lifted his head again. He could _still_ hear movement in Lucy's room. What in the hell was she doing at almost 5 in the morning? Dean let out a sigh and sat up, pushing the scratchy blankets down off his legs. Sam was still asleep, thankfully. At least one of them would get a good night's sleep. He grumbled inwardly as he felt around for his jeans that'd been deposited on the floor hours earlier and pulled them up (after all, he figured it would be indecent to go wandering into Lucy's room in his boxers), standing after a moment. His body felt worn and tired, and he realized it'd probably been years since he actually did anything that would resemble real sleeping. He was always on guard, complete with a knife under the pillow and a gun loaded by the nightstand.

He had to fumble in the darkness some for the door to the adjoining room. He knocked softly before opening it a little, blinking a couple of times as his eyes were assaulted with bright light. Lucy was on the edge of her bed, her legs folded up underneath her as she stared at some infomercial on the tv. She looked up, startled at the door opening and her eyes grew wide. The last thing she'd wanted to do was wake either of the guys up. She'd tried to be quiet, not realizing that the walls in the hotel were paper thin and anyone in the next room could hear a pin drop. She could feel heat rising in her cheeks and moved hurriedly to turn off the tv as Dean slipped inside her room, closing the door behind him as not to wake Sam.

"I'm so sorry..did I wake you up?"

He nodded as his eyes tried to adjust to the brightness of the room. Who knew cheap hotels had such bright lights? "I could hear you moving around in here. What's wrong?"

"I uh...nothin'. Just, I just..couldn't sleep."

He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face before pointing to the bed. "Get in."

Lucy gave him a look before she raised an eyebrow. "Please don't tell me that's how you get a girl to get in bed with you."

"_No_," He said with a snort. "I at least buy them a drink first."

Lucy rolled her eyes but did as she was told, slipping under the covers. She watched him warily as he climbed in next to her, twisting around until he was finally comfortable. "You know, sleeping in jeans sucks," He mumbled after a moment.

"So take them off."

It was his turn to give her a look and a raised eyebrow. "Is that how you get guys to get naked with you?"

Lucy laughed, "You're the one that got in bed with me!"

He groaned in slight annoyance but didn't say anything, seeing as she was right. He climbed out of the bed long enough to strip off his jeans and toss them onto the floor and then climbed under the covers. "I was afraid you'd be all insulted if I wandered in here in my boxers."

"Oh please. It's not like you're going to cop a feel...are you?"

He laughed as he reached over and turned off the bright light, engulfing the room into darkness. "Sorry Luce. Like I said, I at least buy girls' a drink first."

She shifted around in the bed, trying to find a comfortable position before she settled down. She could barely make out his form in the dark but was comforted to be able to hear him breathing. "Hey...Dean?"

"Yeah?" He answered mid-yawn.

Lucy smiled some, "nothing."

"Oh come on.." He was sounding tired already and they'd only been laying down for maybe three minutes.

"Nothing. Just...thanks."

"You're really going to have to quit thanking me. I'm beginning to get a complex, Lucy."

She laughed softly as she tugged the blankets up to her shoulders, closing her eyes. "Night Dean."

"Yeah. Night." He answered after a long moment.

Dean kept his eyes on the ceiling as the seconds passed. He could hear Lucy's breathing begin to even out and deepen, which meant she was _finally _sleeping. He had a feeling that she wasn't sleeping because she wanted to but more than her body had finally given in to the exhaustion that had been taking over. Him and Sam had both noticed the dark circles under her eyes and the way she'd zone out for minutes at a time. She'd barely eaten her food earlier, instead choosing to pick at it before claiming she wasn't hungry anymore. But both men had taken it on as their duty to protect her. Protect her from what? They weren't totally sure.

Dean finally closed his eyes as the closed passed 5:05 a.m. and drifted off to sleep. His own body had given into its exhaustion but at least he was going to be able to get a little bit of rest before the long day of driving that lay ahead of them.

* * *

Sam woke up and found he was alone in the room. Granted, that was totally unusual. Dean would sometimes wake up and go get them coffee or disappear off somewhere to do some training. He was always in training mode, a consequence from being raised by their father. So Sam wasn't too worried when he found himself alone. Instead he relished in it. He took his time as he stretched in the bed, pushing himself to sit up in bed. He ran his hands through his hair, messing it up even worse than it was. Bedhead was _not _the term for Sam Winchester this morning. He dug through his bag for a change of clothes and then grinned to himself. Dean gone meant he had all the time in the world to waste in the shower. A hot shower at that! He hurried to get his clothes together and nearly ran to the bathroom, he was definitely going to take advantage of this.

He spent about twenty minutes under the hot water, letting it wash over his tired and sore muscles. After he finally felt like he wasted enough water, Sam got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He opened the door to the bathroom and poked his head out to see if Dean was there, ready to get bitched at for using too much water but he found the room still empty. Okay that was a little weird. It was nearing nine a.m. They needed to get ready and get out of town if they wanted to get a long drive in that day. But Sam ducked back inside and went about drying off and getting dressed.

Once that was finished and Sam was sufficiently satisfied with how his hair looked that day, he went back to the main room and sighed...Dean had seemingly disappeared. But it was then that he remembered that they had a third person with them. And that third person was decidedly female.

But no...Dean wouldn't...would he?

Sam walked over to the door that adjoined both rooms and pressed himself against it with his ear to the door, trying to listen for any type of movement. Surely his brother wouldn't take advantage of a person who was obviously not in any kind of mental capacity to put up with Dean Winchester's "charm"or whatever it is he called it. Okay so Sam wouldn't put it past his brother but...this was _Lucy_. Lucy would most likely land Dean on his ass if he tried anything out of line but still.

He didn't hear anything, any sound or movement coming from the room and pulled away. So maybe Dean wasn't in there. He walked over to the door and pulled open the curtain that'd been covering the window since they'd gotten there the evening before. Well, the car was still there so Dean was definitely still in the vicinity. After all, Dean couldn't go anywhere without his precious car. He shook his head and pulled the curtain back in front of the window and went to find his computer. Sam guessed he could entertain himself until Dean (or Lucy) materialized.

* * *

She woke up well aware that there was another body in the bed with her. But her mind was fuzzy as she tried to think of how exactly another body had ended up in the bed with her. Granted, the body was warm and pretty damn comfortable but still...had she had a one night stand and _really_ didn't remember it? No, that was very unlikely. Lucy rubbed at her eyes with one hand as she turned over, coming face to face with a still sound asleep Dean. Okay, so there definitely had not been a one night stand because somehow, she would've made sure she remembered it with him.

She had to smile at the sight in front of her though. She had a feeling that sleep was the only time he let himself relax, and even then he probably wasn't all _that _relaxed. But he looked fairly relaxed and looked a lot like the little boy she'd known all those years ago. His mouth was slightly open and she was sure if he was in any deeper of a sleep, he'd probably be snoring away. Lucy took a moment to memorize the way he looked before she sat up, rubbing the rest of the sleep out of her eyes.

She'd actually slept the night before, which was unusual. And while she didn't feel exactly rested, she definitely felt better than she had in..awhile. She moved quietly so as not to wake him, figuring he could use the rest as much as she could. Her lone bag was lying at the foot of the bed, open with clothes spilling out of the top. Part of her couldn't wait to get to Texas so she could get more of her own things. The way it was going, she was going to have to buy some necessities before they got there but if she could get away without having to buy too much, she'd be okay.

She was going through her bag when she heard Dean begin to stir. Smiling, she stood up from where she'd been kneeling by her bag and watched as he stretched almost cat-like and then opened his eyes. "Mornin' sunshine," She quipped before reaching down enough to grab a shirt out of her bag.

A slow, sleepy smile crossed his face when he heard her voice and shifted to see her better. "Have I been asleep long?"

Lucy shook her head as she glanced at the alarm clock. "It's 9:45 now and I just woke up so not really."

He noded and rubbed at his face before he sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Lucy caught herself staring momentarily as he stood from the bed, reaching for the jeans that he'd taken off next to the bed. Shaking her head, she went back to looking through her bag. Dean stretched his arms over his head with a sigh, "did you sleep okay?"

"Yeah I did actually. It was a nice change from you know, the whole _not_ sleeping thing."

He laughed softly as he glanced back at her, "Well good. Glad I could uh..be of service. And I didn't cop a feel."

"Unless you did it when I was asleep."

"You think I'd do that?"

Lucy shrugged a shoulder before grinning, "I dunno Dean. I wouldn't put it past you."

"Hey!" He tossed a pillow at her, " I wouldn't!"

She laughed as she tossed the pillow back at him. "I'm kidding. Did you sleep okay? You looked pretty comfortable."

Dean wasn't going to really admit it but he had slept pretty well. In fact, he'd slept better than he had in awhile. But there was no admitting to it. Instead he just shrugged a shoulder, "yeah I slept okay."

She stood and laid her clothes out on the bed. "I guess we should probably get ready to head out."

"Yeah Sam's probably in there still asleep. We'll grab something to eat on the way out, okay?"

She nodded, watching out of the corner of her eye as he moved to the adjoining room door and opened it. "Yeah I'll be ready in a little bit."

He just shot her a smile before disappearing into his and Sam's room.

Lucy let out a sigh as soon as the door closed and ran a hand through her hair, pushing it back off of her face. She had to quit thinking about Dean in any sense because it was going to drive her up the wall. Grabbing her clothes up off the bed, she headed into the bathroom, shutting the door firmly behind her.


	7. Chapter 7

Sam looked up as his brother very nearly came barreling through the door adjoining the two rooms. His clothes were rumpled and his hair (what little he still had since he'd insisted on cutting it weeks before) was messed too. He frowned, noting just where his older brother had come from. "Dude!" He exclaimed, giving him a very pointed look.

Dean looked confused as he looked around. Did he forget something? No he had all of his clothes on so he wasn't wandering around naked. He looked at Sam, "What? Why are you giving me that pissy geek boy look for?"

"What were you doing to her?"

He blinked, "Uh what?"

"You just came from Lucy's room!"

"Thanks for stating the obvious there, captain." Dean shook his head as he went about grabbing clothes that could be deemed as clean. "She had trouble sleeping last night, I went in there and crashed. Don't get your panties in a twist. _Nothing_ happened."

Sam just stared at him but shook his head, before turning to look back at the computer in front of him. "So is she okay?"

"Yeah. You shower?"

"Yeah. Took a quick one." Sam hid his smile as he ducked his head, clicking on a few links on the screen.

Dean nodded and headed into the bathroom, "Be ready when I'm done. We gotta head out."

His brother nodded in acknowledgement, watching some as Dean closed the door behind him. A grin crossed his face when he heard the water start.

Five

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

"SAM!" Came the yell just when he thought it would.

Sam started to laugh, almost hysterically. Well _that _would teach Dean to leave him alone enough to use up all the hot water.

* * *

After Dean exited the shower, dressed and slightly more grumpy than he'd been when he went into the bathroom, he grabbed up his things and headed out to the car. Sam wasn't far behind, dropping his stuff off in the car before going to check out. Lucy came out of her room, dragging her things behind her. She noticed the look on Dean's face and raised an eyebrow as she approached. "Well you look pissed off...what's wrong with you?"

"Sam's getting on my nerves," He answered before moving out of the way to let her put her stuf into the backseat.

"Aren't little brothers supposed to do that though?"

"Yeah but...I don't know."

She laughed as she shut the door, leaning back against the car next to him. "Give him a break. He's your little brother. I'm sure it's not easy to be in Dean Winchester's shadow."

He rolled his eyes but didn't say anything else on the subject, mostly because Sam was coming back. Sam smiled at Lucy, "Morning. We're all checked out and ready to go."

"Good, we should get going then. Grab something to eat on the way out of town." Dean moved around to the driver's side and got inside. Sam and Lucy shared a look before following suit and getting inside.

Things were quiet in the car as they stopped long enough to get breakfast for all of them and headed out onto the highway. Sam was reading a book he'd picked up somewhere along the way and while Lucy still had the book she'd started a few days before, she was taking the opportunity to lay in the backseat and sort of doze in and out of consciousness. It was strange as she'd never really been one to sleep while riding in a car, usually she'd find herself being the navigator and reading from a map. Or she'd just stare out the window at the passing scenery. But she guessed the lack of sleep was catching up with her finally that enabled her to nap some.

Dean was pretty quiet for almost two hours, until the silence had about driven him crazy. He pushed the 'play' button on the stereo and listened as Motorhead came spilling from the speakers. Sam just looked at him but didn't say anything as he finished reading whatever it was that he'd picked up. Once he finished the page he was on, he closed the book and set it down on the floorboard near his feet. He glanced into the backseat and noticed Lucy was asleep. Turning around in the passenger seat, he looked out the window as they passed a farm with a few cows wandering the pasture. "So, what's Lucy going to do once we get to Texas?"

Dean shrugged a shoulder as he kept his eyes on the road. Traffic was light that morning and he'd almost been afraid to take the interstate. Knowing how their luck tended to run, they'd probably get pulled over by a state trooper and hauled in for having warrants out on them. But it was the quickest way south. "Dunno. She said she wanted to get some of her things. She wants to come with us as we track the demon."

Sam let out a sigh as he leaned his head back against the seat. "You think that's a good idea?"

"I don't know. It would be nice to have a third body in on it." Dean glanced at his brother before turning his attention back to the road. "She can handle herself."

"Yeah I know. I just...well, I don't want anything to happen to her."

"I don't either. But like I said, I'd rather have three people in on it than just two. And if dad...well..if dad's not going to be around, then I'd at least want someone who can shoot a gun."

"Or throw a knife," Sam said with a smile.

"Exactly."

"She has an apartment, I'm guessing?"

Dean nodded, "that's what she said the other night. Some friends had been looking after things while she was in Oklahoma visiting her parents. She said she wanted to get some more of her clothes and I guess she'll put everything else in storage."

Sam looked back at the sleeping woman in the backseat but just nodded his head. He didn't want anything bad to happen to any of them but part of him definitely hated that Lucy was giving up her 'normal' life to chase something that'd torn her life up. Maybe, just maybe, they could find this demon soon and get rid of it. Maybe then they could all do something considered 'normal' with their lives.

* * *

_Flashback_

When Dean was sixteen and after he got his license, his father had allowed him to drive the Impala. It wasn't yet his but Dean knew it would be one day, when his father deemed it. So the first night he got to drive it, he drove to Lucy's house and picked her up. The two of them went riding around the small little town they were in, through the two stoplights and past the one McDonald's. They had the windows rolled down, even though the air was pretty cool, and the radio was turned up about as loud as it would go.

They didn't say a word until Dean parked at the edge of some field. It was pitch black outside and quiet, except for the faint sound trucks on the highway a few miles away. The two of them got out of the car and settled up on the hood, vowing not to speak a word of it to John Winchester. If he found out that they took the chance on scratching the precious car, they'd probably both be grounded for months. They laid back on the car, looking up at the sky silently. The sky was a dark navy blue filled with white, sparkling diamonds that formed constellations that Lucy could name and point out within seconds. Dean just laughed and called her a "geek".

Lucy let out a soft sigh after a long silence. "It's so...pretty out here."

Dean laughed but nodded his head. "It is. It's nice."

"You ever feel really small?"

He snorted, "No."

Lucy lifted head long enough to reach over and punch him in the shoulder. "Sometimes you are so crude Dean Winchester. _That_ wasn't what I meant."

"Yeah I know." He shifted some so he could see her better and watched as she turned her face up towards the sky. It was so dark out that he could barely make out her profile but he could swear he could see her eyes twinkling in the darkness. "And yeah..guess I do."

"Your dad was teaching Sammy how to throw knives earlier today."

"Yeah," was all Dean said as he turned his own face up towards the sky. The stars were twinkling above them and he had to admit, it was pretty. "He's not too bad."

"No, he's not really. Did it take you long to learn how?"

"A few tries. You?"

"Yeah, a few."

Dean grinned and looked over at her again, "Please! Your dad said you hit the target on the first try Lucy!"

She laughed and he could tell she was turning red, even if he couldn't totally see it. "Shut up Dean Winchester."

* * *

_Present_

They were about twenty miles from the Kansas state border when Dean stopped so they could fill the car up and stretch their legs. Lucy had actually slept most of the way and had only woke up when Sam had reached into the backseat to jostle her a bit. He leaned back against the car as he watched Lucy come out of the gas station. Her jeans were riding low on her hips, complete with a worn hole in the right knee. Her t-shirt stopped about three inches from her jeans, revealing the tan skin underneath. His eyes, for whatever reason, were fixated on that bit of skin. He wondered for a moment if it was warm and smooth and his hand ached to touch it.

Then he stopped himself, shaking his head as he pushed away from the car to check the gas pump. She walked over to him, handing him a soda as she did so, leaning back against the trunk of the car. "So we're almost to Kansas..."

He nodded, taking the soda from her as he stood next to her. "Yeah...and?"

"Thought about stopping in Lawrence?"

"Nothin' there to stop for."

She nodded her head as she took a drink of her own soda. "Okay. Just saying.."

He cracked a small smile, "you're so transparent."

"I am not!"

He nudged her with his shoulder. "We've already been there since...since he died."

"Good, that's good."

"Yeah. Wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be." He moved to set his soda onto the trunk of the car, looking at her as he did so. "You let any of your friends know what happened?"

"A friend of mine, Paula, knows what happened. I told her it'd be awhile before I was able to come back. She said she'd keep an eye on everything."

He nodded, "you know...if you wanted to stay there, we wouldn't hold it against you."

"What? You don't want me to come?" She asked.

"No, it's not that. I just...I mean, this is what Sam and I _do_. This is all I've known since I was four years old. You can still go home and have something of a normal life. Find a guy, settle down, all that crap you're supposed to do." He ducked his head, seeing the flash of hurt and anger in her eyes. Damn her eyes..

"No I can't go home and do all of that." She pushed away from the car and moved to get into the backseat, "it's a little difficult to do all of that when your parents were killed. When you think that the thing is coming after _you_ next."

He sighed and turned to follow her. "Okay okay. Don't run away from me damnit." He reached out and caught the back of her t-shirt, tugging on her before she could crawl into the car. "I was just saying...that if you wanted to then neither of us would blame you."

She let him pull her backwards and finally nodded her head. "Okay then."


	8. Chapter 8

As the three of them made the long drive through Kansas, Lucy noticed a change in the way the Winchester's acted. It was subtle; they didn't say or do anything exactly. But she noticed as the car rolled down the interstate that both Sam and Dean's shoulders squared and tensed. Dean's hands on the steering wheel tightened so much that they turned white. Sam's jaw was clenched and he kept his gaze out the window. They'd both gone silent too; even the radio had gone off. It was beginning to drive her up the wall. Without the two of them picking on each other or talking about random things or without the sound of the radio playing in the background, Lucy had time to think. And thinking was very bad.

She sat back against the leather of the seat, sighing to herself as she stared out the window. She hated when things were silent, when there was nothing to distract her from the thoughts running circles in her head. At least when there were conversations going on she could pretend. Pretend to be someone other than herself. She could put up a front and act as if everything was okay, as if she were okay. But now with the silence dragging on, Lucy knew she wasn't okay. If she closed her eyes even for the briefest of seconds she could see her childhood home burning, see the smoke billowing out of the front windows. She could hear the glass shatter as the windows broke, she could smell the house burning, taking along childhood possessions and family heirlooms with it.

Blinking quickly, she pushed herself up in the seat. She wasn't going to think about it, not when she was in the presence of two other people. When she was alone? That was okay because she was alone; no one else had to see her blubber like a baby. She didn't want Dean or Sam to see her break. Running a hand through her hair, she leaned her forehead against the cool glass of the car window. She wished Kansas would pass quicker. The faster they got through the state, the faster Dean and Sam would turn back into the talkative twosome. Then she wouldn't be stuck alone with her thoughts.

She had no idea Dean was watching her in the rearview mirror. He noticed the way her eyes moved around quickly, trying to find something to focus on that she could distract herself with. Of course he had to look away to actually pay attention to the road but he noticed her eyes slip closed. He halfway hoped she was going to sleep for a little while, the drive was long and boring as it was. But even though she was in the backseat, he could nearly feel her jolt herself awake. Her eyes darted around the backseat of the car but she still didn't catch him watching her. Of course it helped when he averted his eyes when he thought she would look at him. He sighed inwardly. Lucy was bound and determined to deal with this on her own. But when was she going to realize she didn't _have_ to?

Three Hours Later

Sam stole a glance into the backseat where Lucy had finally given into what had to be exhaustion and was asleep with her head against the car window. He turned around to face his brother before he opened his mouth. "Maybe we should go to Lawrence. Go see Missouri."

Dean raised an eyebrow as he glanced over at Sam, "Why would we need to go see Missouri?"

"Because...maybe she could help with Lucy. Maybe she'd be able to tell if the demon was coming after her."

He sighed before he rubbed his forehead with his hand. They had passed the exit for Lawrence about fifteen miles back but it wasn't that he didn't care to turn around. It was just that he didn't want to go to Lawrence. "Sam we passed the exit awhile ago..."

"Yeah so? We can turn around."

"Yeah but what if Missouri can't help? I mean, she might not even be able to tell anything about Lucy. She might not be able to pick up on anything having to do with the demon."

"But she might be able to." Sam shrugged, "just an idea." 

Dean grumbled under his breath but sighed. "Let's get her to Austin. We'll get her stuff, see if she wants to tag along with us and we'll come back through this way and see Missouri."

Sam thought it over and finally nodded his head. They did need to get to Austin and figure out where to go from there. "Alright fine. That'll work for me."

Dean nodded, glancing in the rearview mirror at Lucy as she slept. "Good."

When Lucy finally woke up, she was surprised to find the radio on and Sam talking animatedly about a book he'd finished reading a few days ago. Dean looked like he was pretending to listen but smiled when he saw her moving in the backseat. "Mornin' sunshine!"

Sam stopped talking mid-sentence and turned to Lucy, shooting her a smile. "Hey, sleep okay?"

She had actually, which was quite unexpected given that she'd had so much trouble lately. "Yeah I did actually. Did I miss out on anything?"

"Besides the great scenery, no." Dean shook his head. "We were thinking about stopping here in a little bit, crash for the evening. That okay with you?"

She nodded as she leaned up into the front seat some, "Yeah that's fine with me. I'll buy the rooms this time." 

Sam grinned, "Oh we definitely have to keep her around if she's going to pay for things!"

Lucy laughed as she swatted at his arm. "See if I offer anymore...now what book were you rambling about?"

They found a small hotel just off the interstate and got a couple of rooms, with Lucy paying at her insistence. Once they'd dropped their things off and cleaned up a bit, the three of them headed out to find a place to eat dinner and maybe have a few drinks. They found a bar just down the street from the hotel and ducked inside as the sun went below the horizon, engulfing the area into darkness. The minute they stepped inside, it was obvious that all eyes were on newbie's. It was even more painfully obvious that all the male eyes were on Lucy. As Sam led them inside and towards the bar, Dean found himself moving just a little closer to Lucy. Probably not enough for her to notice and he wasn't touching her but it was enough to give the creeps in the bar the illusion not to mess with her.

Unfortunately for Lucy she did notice Dean's movement. She could feel his body heat at her back and wanted to ask him what he was doing but didn't when she caught some guy at a table near the door leering at her. She jumped when she felt a hand on her lower back, glancing back at Dean. His warm hand was flat against her skin as it slid just enough under the shirt she was wearing. He shot her a smile as he gave her a little push forward. She blinked; of course she had to remember to walk. Walking was important after all. Even if she had to concentrate _really _hard to ignore the warm hand on her back.

Sam sat down first, followed by Lucy and then Dean. How she ended up in the middle of the two of them she didn't know but she wasn't going to argue as the bartender stared openly at her chest. And here she wasn't even wearing anything revealing! She cleared her throat and pasted a smile on her face, "Hey I'm up _here_. Can we get three beers please?"

Sam snorted while Dean just glared as the bartender stared for another couple of seconds before he finally looked up at them. "Yeah sure, be right back." He said before disappearing out of their view.

Dean shook his head as he leaned his arms on the bar top. "What a jerk."

"Like you never stare at women," Sam said.

"Like you _don't_?!" 

"I at least try to do it without being completely obvious." Sam rolled his eyes, "you do it just out and open."

Lucy looked between the two of them. "Should I leave you two alone or something?"

"No," They said in unison.

She just shook her head with a smile as the bartender came back to them and set a beer down in front each of them. "So you all new to town?" He asked, trying not to look so obvious at staring at Lucy this time.

Dean took a long drink of his beer before setting it down on the counter. "Nah just passing through." He scooted closer to Lucy, smiling at the bartender before he slid his arm around her shoulders.

She gave him a strange look before exchanging the same look with Sam. He just shrugged and lifted up his beer. Lucy forced a smile at the bartender as he looked at her and then turned towards Dean some. He was acting weird just because a couple of guys were staring at her. Of course they were going to be stared at. They were complete strangers in a small little town just off the interstate in Kansas, people _were_ going to stare. Dean wasn't looking at her, instead focusing on the small TV behind the bar that was playing some sports station. He did, however, keep his arm around her.


	9. Chapter 9

He was on his third or fourth beer, watching her over the bottom of the bottle as he took a long drink. The bar was fairly empty now; Sam and Lucy had wandered over to thejukebox and were looking (and laughing) at some of the songs that were on it. He snorted when he heard a certain, so-called popular Billy Ray Cyrus song come out of the speakers and raised an eyebrow at Sam, who was grinning like a chesire cat. Lucy had turned bright red but then grabbed a hold of Sam's arm and tugged him out into the middle of the floor. Sam's long legs stumbled after her, probably from the four beers he'd had that night and probably because Lucy was much shorter than him and he was trying _not_ to step on her. Dean shook his head with a smile as he watched Lucy attempt to get Sam to dance to the way too cheesy country song in the middle of the empty floor that he guessed could be used as a dance floor. Sam and Lucy were both laughing as they tripped over each other's feet, turning around the floor.

Sam finally untangled himself from Lucy, "that was horrible!"

She laughed as the song finally ended and walked back towards Dean. "Hey you picked the song Winchester."

"Yeah but..dancing? I can't dance!"

"Obviously," She said teasingly. Reaching across Dean, she grabbed her beer and held it up to take a drink. "Should we head back to the hotel?"

"In a few. At least finish your own beer first." He smiled at her as she leaned against the counter with her hip, "I can't believe you tried to get my brother to dance."

She grinned and shrugged a shoulder, "he's probably not so bad when it's not Billy Ray Cyrus." She set her bottle down before reaching out, tugging on his shirt sleeve. "C'mon old man."

"Old?! And no way, I don't dance." Dean planted his feet firmly on the floor, laughing as Lucy tried to pull on him but nearly fell back against him. He wasn't budging. Dean Winchester? Did not dance.

"Oh come on! It won't be a country song.."

Sam was over by the jukebox again so nothing was playing just yet. He grinned at Dean, "Come on Dean. If she can get me to dance...well kind of, then you can too."

"Yes but I don't _want_ to," He grumbled as Lucy finally managed to get him to his feet. "Shut up Sam, don't make me come over there."

She scowled and wrapped her hands around his upper arm, tugging as hard as she could. It only managed to drag Dean a few inches forward and he was trying his best not to laugh. "Dean come on!" She finally exclaimed.

"Lucy I don't dance. Didn't we go over this as teenagers? I have two left feet and I readily admit it."

She sighed and then did something Dean knew he woudn't be able to resist. She gave him the puppy-dog eyes complete with the bottom lip sticking out in the best pout he'd seen in a long time. It was enough to rival some of the patented puppy dog looks Sam gave him.

He sighed, "Lucy don't.."

"Dean, come on. Just one song. I won't even make you do any fancy foot work."

It was his turn to scowl and he nodded, brushing past her to go out to the middle of the floor. Lucy grinned and followed after him, "HA I knew that'd work!"

He just rolled his eyes but turned when he reached the middle of the floor to face her, smiling just a little bit (because he didn't want to _look_ like he was enjoying himself) as she stepped closer to him. He slipped one of his arms around her waist and pulled her up closer before saying, "you know the old saying 'payback's a bitch'?"

She laughed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Unfortunately, yes. So I'm guessing I'll be getting paid back later.."

"Oh yeah. Definitely."

They both blinked and looked at Sam as a Celine Dion song came from the jukebox. He just smiled as innocently as possible before leaving them alone. Lucy was the first to laugh and started to pull away from him. "Oh god, we cannot dance to the Titanic theme song.."

"No way, you wanted to dance. So we're dancing." Dean pulled her back towards him, "plus it's not so bad..is it?"

"Is what? Dancing with you or the song?"

He grinned, "The song."

"Did you actually _see_ Titanic?"

Dean had to think for a moment because it was sort of hard to remember. It wasn't like they had all the time when they were younger to go see movies whenever they pleased. But to impress a girl (or two) he'd gone to see many a movie that would be considered a chick-flick. "Uh...yeah," He said with a shrug.

She laughed, "Because of a girl?" She knew him too well at times.

"You know it."

She just shook her head as they moved around the floor slowly. "I guess that was a pretty stupid question. And I thought you said you couldn't dance!"

Dean was having trouble concentrating on whatever she was saying because he had become hyper-aware of ow close she was to him, and how warm her skin was under his hands. "Huh?" He finally said when he realized he was supposed to say something.

"I said, I thought you couldn't dance?"

"I can't.."

"You have yet to step on my feet, Dean. I'm impressed."

"And how many guys have stepped on your feet?" It was a really round about way of asking if she'd had a boyfriend in the past couple of years but hopefully she wouldn't pick up on that.

"Hm..not many. But maybe that's because most guys I've gone out with haven't exactly been ones to dance with me." She looked down and away from him, "I mean it's not like I've gone out with that many people or anything. I was always pretty busy with school and then working and all that."

"Well you know if I'd been around, they would've had to pass the Dean Winchester test."

"Oh would they now?" Lucy raised an eyebrow as she slid her hands down over his shoulders. "What would that entail?"

"Oh I don't know. Possibly kicking the guys' ass?" He grinned as he rested his hands on her hips.

_Men._ She shook her head, that was such a Dean-thing to say. "I guess you would've kicked your own ass back when we were kids then, huh?"

"You just had to bring that up. You know...she was really hot."

Lucy reached down with one hand as the song ended and the bar was engulfed in silence (well, besides the few people inside still talking and the bartender banging around in the back), poking him in the side with her index finger. "I'm sure she was, jerk!"

He laughed and squirmed, pulling away from her. One thing Dean Winchester hated was being tickled, and she knew that! "Hey I fully admit that I was and am still a jerk. But at least I didn't step on your feet."

She had to agree as they moved back to the bar. It took a few minutes for them to settle the bill and catch up with Sam. But once that was done they were headed back for the hotel. It was still fairly early but all were tired as it'd been a long day already. It was a short walk and they were all in good moods (for once), although Sam had reverted to picking on Dean for dancing to a Celine Dion song. Dean wasn't paying much attention though, too intent on staring at the way Lucy swung her hips as she walked in front of him and Sam. He was also having a hard time forgetting the way she'd felt when she was very nearly pressed up against him. Lucy was having a hard time ignoring the feeling like she was being stared at. Why had she decided to walk in front of them? Oh well, it was too late to change her mind as she reached her room. She said goodnight to the both of them and unlocked the door to her room, closing it once she was inside.

* * *

Dean and Sam went into their room, both pausing for a moment to kick off their shoes and shrug out of their jackets. Dean was rubbing the back of his neck as Sam flopped down on one of the beds. "You're not going to kill me for playing a Celine Dion song, right?" He asked as he watched Dean move around the room. 

Dean had a methodical way of checking everything without actually looking like he was checking for everything. Salt by the windows? Check. Doors and windows locked? Check. Gun in the nightstand? Check.

His last check was for the knife he'd hidden under the pillow on his bed. It was a habit he'd had for years and one that would probably never go away. Once he made sure everything was locked down and secure, he let himself drop down onto the bed closest to the window. "Nah I guess not. Not this time at least. Although, Celine Dion? Way lame Sammy," He said as he laid back on the bed.

Sam laughed as he closed his eyes. "Got you to dance with her though.."

"Whatever."

He turned his head, looking at Dean on the other side of the room. He'd put his hands behind his head, closing his eyes but Sam knew he wasn't asleep and probably wouldn't be for awhile. Sam smiled some, "guess it was good for her to forget about everything for awhile."

"Mmhm. That why you picked _Celine Dion_?" Dean laughed as he rolled onto his side. "Cheesy, Sam. Way too cheesy."

"I think we should be wondering why that bar had Celine Dion songs on their jukebox in the first place," He said with a grin.

"True. Maybe that's the next great mystery we have to solve.." Dean covered a yawn with one hand before pushing himself up off the bed, "I gotta change out of these clothes. We'll get going somewhat early, maybe. Depends on when all of us wake up I guess."

Sam just nodded, he was too comfortable at the moment to give a real answer or to even consider changing out of his jeans at the moment.

* * *

Lucy had tried her best to sleep once she got into her room. She'd taken her time in changing her clothes, brushing her teeth and making sure everything was packed for when they would be leaving in the morning. She'd watched tv for almost a whole hour before she crawled under the covers and laid down. Once the lights were off and the room was silent, her brain was in overdrive. It was annoying that she couldn't stop her brain from working. 

She laid there for another hour, although it felt like much longer before turning the light back on and then the tv. Informercials were on three of the channels so she eventually settled on CNN. Lucy supposed she could just sleep in the car later while they drove down the endless interstate. She sighed softly and halfway wished they'd gotten rooms that were adjoining. At least then she could maybe think about sneaking in to the boys' room and crawl in with one of them. It was a silly thought but it had worked when Dean had climbed in with her the other night.

Groaning, she buried her face in the uncomfortable, flat pillow the hotel provided and forced her eyes closed. Maybe if she could think of _other_ things then she could sleep for an hour or two. And an hour or two was a lot better than nothing at all. But sleep wouldn't come easy that night because once Lucy did fall asleep, that was the first night that she had a vision.

It was more like a nightmare than anything else, at least to Lucy. She woke up just as the sun was beginning to rise and flood the room with a dull yellow color. Her heart was pounding and she was sure she was about to hyperventilate. Looking around wildly, she had to make sure that she really was in some hole in the wall motel but mostly she had to make sure she was alone.

With a sigh she finally laid back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. It was just a dream, a bad dream, that was all. Her mind was just working on overdrive from everything and okay, maybe she'd had one too many beers at that bar. She closed her eyes again but knew that this time there would be no resting.


	10. Chapter 10

Both boys noticed how quiet she was the next morning. She was out in front of the car packed and ready by the time they were and with nothing more than a grumbled "morning", she got into the backseat. Sam and Dean both shared a look but Dean just shrugged, tossng him the keys. It was time to let Sam do some driving. Lucy was quiet even as the car wound its way out of the parking lot and back onto the road in the direction of the interstate. She eventually laid down in the backseat with her legs stretched out on top of their things. The boys were quiet until they were sure she'd fallen asleep.

Sam glanced in the rearview mirror one last time at Lucy but she wasn't moving and seemed to be asleep. "So uh..she's in a good mood.."

"Yeah sure looked like it." Dean said as he flipped aimlessly through their father's journal. He was sure he knew it front to back and vice versa but at least it was something to look at besides the road ahead. "I don't know if I want to know why she's in a bad mood though."

"Dean not everything is because of PMS.."

He grinned, turning his head to look at Sam. "Well you _are_ an expert on PMS," He said before looking back down at the journal.

Sam just snorted but didn't say anything. The silence stretched on for another few minutes before he let out a sigh, "she looked pretty worn out."

"Yeah. Probably didn't sleep much, she said she hasn't since-"

"Yeah." Dean turned around some to look back at her. She definitely seemed to be asleep, probably from sheer exhaustion. He could see the dark circles under her eyes from where he was though. Sighing he turned back around in the seat. "Hopefully she starts sleeping or else she's going to make herself sick."

"Why, Dean, are you actually worried about someone other than yourself?"

Dean rolled his eyes, "Don't make me hit you while you're driving my car."

"I'm just kidding anyway."

"Yeah but still, don't make me come over there."

"Bitch." Sam was fighting the urge to grin, instead choosing to bite down hard on the inside of his mouth.

"Jerk."

* * *

She awoke with a start and sat up quickly, looking around to make sure she wasn't on fire. Or anything else wasn't on fire. She was surprised to find the Impala parked at a gas station. Even more surprisingly was that the car was empty. Her heart was still pounding and she let out a sigh, brushing her hair back off her face. This was just getting ridiculous. First she couldn't sleep because of the thoughts running through her head at warped speed and now that she could sleep, she had horrible nightmares. Add in the massive headache she'd developed and Lucy was having a _wonderful_ day.

She climbed out of the backseat and stretched her arms over her head, glancing around for any sign of either Winchester brother. The gas station was pretty empty and the sun was still high in the sky. But there was no telling how long she'd been asleep. With an involuntary shiver, she tried to push thoughts of her nightmare out of her head and went inside to find something to take the edge off the headache. Sam was standing in front of the candy, picking and choosing things that he would, of course, need when driving. He smiled when he saw her come around the corner, "hey feeling better?"

His smile was unfortunately infectious and she found herself smiling back before nodding. "Yeah I do actually. I'm sorry I've been a grump..haven't been sleeping well."

He shrugged a shoulder as he grabbed a bag full of chocolate. "No big deal, we all have our moments. Trust me."

"Where's Dean?" Lucy was moving around him to head back to the cooler where the drinks were stored when they both froze.

The things in Sam's hands went crashing down to the floor as he moved to cover his face at the sharp pain that tore through his head. Lucy did the same, letting out a cry as she nearly fell onto the floor. A flash of something, kind of like a movie trailer of some sort, filled both of their heads. There was a car, black, and it was turned completely over onto it's top, on fire and burning quickly, the tires still spinning. Two people still inside. Sam cursed loudly and then it was over. He was staring at Lucy as she straightened up slowly, as if moving too fast would cause the pain to come back. "Did you just see that?" He asked before scrambling to pick up the stuff he dropped just in case they'd drawn any attention to themselves.

She blinked a couple of times, looking around herself quickly. "Um..did that just really happen?"

He nodded and shoved the candy back onto the shelf it'd been sitting on, grabbing her arm and nearly dragging her out into the sunlight. "Did you see that? Lucy you gotta tell me."

"I..guess so? What was that?"

He let out a groan and stomped his foot onto the concrete. "Shit this is not good...not good at all.." He was mumbling as he paced in front of her.

Lucy just looked confused. The car had looked an awful lot like the...

Both looked up as the door to the gas station opened and Dean sauntered out. He looked between the two, noticing the worried look on his brother's face and the completely confused one on Lucy's. "Uh..did I miss something?"

Sam grabbed Dean by the sleeve and dragged him off around the building. Lucy thought to follow but then decided it was best not to. Instead she took the opportunity to walk around the car completely, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Why? She had no idea but something inside her was telling her to check it out.

She walked back to the front of the car when she saw the boys walking back out towards her. They had the same look on their face, but it was too hard to describe. Both had their jaws set, fists at their sides. Dean walked around to the driver's side, sparing her a sideways glance before saying sternly, "get in."

"Why? What's going on?"

Sam brushed past her but refused to look at her. Dean opened the driver's side door, "we're making a detour. Get in."

"Excuse me? What kind of detour?" She put her hands on her hips, turning around to face him.

Dean rubbed a hand over his face, looking at her pleadingly. "Please just get in the car. We'll talk about it on our way to Lawrence."

"Why are we-"

She was cut off by Dean, "Lucy just get in the damn car!"

Blinking a couple of times Lucy finally just scowled and got into the backseat of the car. Sam and Dean followed suit and soon they were back on the road.

Lucy was quiet for all of fifteen minutes before she sat forward enough where she could see both of their faces. "Will one of you tell me what the hell is going on? Sam, I don't know why you're so freaked out-"

"You don't think it's weird that we saw the same thing, felt the same thing, at the same time?"

She frowned and had to admit to herself that it _was_ weird but it was just part of her remembering her nightmare...and for some reason Sam remembered the same thing. "Um...I guess?"

Dean and Sam shared a look which annoyed her to no end. She was getting tired of the shared looks and nonverbal communication between the two. Slamming her hands down onto the back of the seats, she finally broke. "Quit doing that!" She exclaimed loudly.

"We're not doing anything-" Dean started to say.

She glared at him and he was sure if looks could kill that he'd be six feet under at that moment. "Yes. You are. I'm tired of you two holding conversations with each other without even seeming to say anything! It's highly annoying. So what the hell is going on? Why are we going to Lawrence?"

He sighed loudly, "We need to go see an old friend."

"Why?"

"Because she can help us. And you." Dean turned his attention to the road again, his hands tightening around the wheel.

Sam nodded his head in agreement, "It's important. We know you want to get home and to your stuff and we'll get there but I think we need to do this first."

She glared at them both before sitting back against the seat. "That answered no question whatsoever. You two both suck. A lot."

They seemed to ignore her for the moment which caused Lucy to just scowl out the window. She hated not knowing what was going on but above all else, she was scared. She knew what sort of things were out there, was she suddenly turning into one?

* * *

Dean looked at his brother who was pouring over their dad's journal again, flipping through page after page. "You sure what you saw Sam?" He asked quietly even though he knew Lucy was in the backseat trying to listen in on their conversation.

"Yeah. The Impala was on its roof, looked like you and her inside. It was burning." He shuddered some at the memory and let out a sigh, "I think I just saw more than she did."

Lucy sat up again at this, "Why did you see more than I did? And what did you see?"

"Lucy.."

"What! This isn't fair, at all. If this involves me then I should know about it."

Sam finally turned towards her, watching her face carefully. "You ever had dreams like that before? Where you saw something that seemed...I don't know, real?"

"Well last night I had a pretty bad nightmare about a car crash. I mean, I could see _everything_. I could practically smell everything too." She frowned, "does this mean it's going to happen? I mean, it looked like the-"

"Imapla. We know." Dean said without looking at either of them.

"But then when Sam and I were in the gas station, it kinda flashed through my mind again.."

He nodded, "yeah it was just a big flash."

"But Sam, you didn't see one of your things last night did you?"

Sam shook his head. "No. This was the first, in awhile."

"Great. Why am I the one surrounded by psychics?" Dean mumbled, although he knew both of them heard it.

"I'm not a psychic," Lucy said.

Sam smiled sadly but nodded his head. "I think you are Luce. The same thing started happening to me, I'd have these nightmare-type things and just brushed them off but I noticed after awhile that they started to come true."

"Uh...what?"

"Sam, don't do this here," Dean said softly.

Lucy shook her head, "No I want to know. So you have...psychic abilities?"

"Visions."

She blinked a couple of times. "Uh..okay. So I have them too?"

"It's looking that way."

"You're shitting me.." She shook her head again, rubbing a hand over her face as she sat back. After a long moment she started to laugh. "Oh that's just great! I'm going completely crazy, I knew it."

"You are not," Dean said looking at her in the rearview mirror. "Lucy, you know what the hell's out there. You _know_ about this demon. And you know that me and Sam, we're not giving you any bullshit."

She knew all of that, of course she did. She'd been privy to a few conversations John Winchester and her father had about the yellow-eyed demon (although they hadn't known she was eavesdropping but that was besides the point). But still..did that mean she was going to become evil or something?

She chewed on her lip, growing silent as the car continued to roll down the interstate. Both boys turned around and kept their eyes on the road, trying to give her as much privacy as being in a car could allow.

* * *

Dean parked the car in front of a small house and turned off the engine. It was a welcoming, warm looking house but Lucy still didn't want to be there. She knew deep down that the boys didn't want to be there either. Dean had more memories of Lawrence than Sam did, of course, but she knew it had to be hard for them both. That was why she got out of the car wordlessly and followed the two of them up the front walkway and to the porch. Sam knocked on the door and they only had to wait for a few seconds for the door to open. Lucy had to look between Sam and Dean's shoulders to see a shorter, African-American woman inside the doorway with the biggest smile possible on her face. It was obvious that she knew the boys. She ushered them inside, rambling about something or another. Lucy wasn't paying that much attention, instead choosing to look around the house as they walked inside.

"Oh look at you sweetheart," The woman said suddenly. She knew that Sam and Dean had someone with them the moment they stopped in front of her house. The girl was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. Stepping closer to her, the older woman gave the younger one a warm smile, "I'm Missouri. You must be Lucy."

Lucy looked at Sam and Dean. How in the hell had this woman known her name? She just nodded, "Uh..yeah? I mean, yes ma'am."

Missouri looked at Dean, "see at least she has some manners." She grabbed Lucy's hand and pulled her behind her. "Come on child, we've got a lot of talking to do. Boys, entertain yourselves. And Dean don't even _think_ about it."

Dean looked slightly alarmed, "I didn't do anything!"

"No but you were starting to think it. I'm not stupid, boy."

Lucy shot him a confused look but was yanked into the room behind Missouri. They heard the front door close a few moments later and Missouri fixed her calm gaze on Lucy. "You're scared, aren't you honey?"

"Well to be honest, I have no idea what is going on."

She motioned for Lucy to sit down on the couch and she did so, watching as the older woman bustled around the room. "I suppose those boys think they can just bring you here and I'll have all the answers. I swear, I don't know when they will learn. Probably never."

"How do you know them?"

"I'm an old family friend. Met their father when the fire happened. Poor man.." She frowned suddenly, "I should've known what he'd do for his boys.."

"What'd you mean?" Now this was interesting. Lucy knew their father had died but neither Sam nor Dean were forthcoming with any details besides saying John had a heart attack.

"Why, the man gave his life for Dean's. As far as I can tell anyway. Something's not sitting right but that's all I can pull from it all." Missouri shook her head before sitting down next to her, placing one of her hands on top of Lucy's. "And I'm so sorry about your parents Lucy. They were wonderful people."

She blinked back the tears that formed too quickly for her liking and looked away from her. "Did you..know them?"

"Met your father a long time ago, before you were born. Also saw him about a year after you were born. You're certainly your father's daughter.." She smiled kindly at her, "you have a lot of him in you, you know."

"I do?" Her and her dad had always had a lot in common, but she figured that was because she was a "daddy's girl".

"Of course you do! Look and act just like him." She patted her hand before standing up, starting to move around the room again, cleaning up the area. "Sam and Dean are worried about you. They don't know how to tell you everything they do about this...monster that's come after you all."

"What do you mean?"

"Sam's got abilities too, although that boy still hasn't learned all he has inside of him. I swear, I might as well knock him over the head sometimes. He sees things that have a habit of coming true. It's part of the 'big plan' of the demon, at least that's what they think."

"What?" Lucy shook her head, this was getting more and more confusing and she was beginning to feel horribly lost in it all. "So Sam's evil?"

"No." Missouri sat back down. "I'm sorry honey, I don't know everything. And I know this is a lot for you to take in. You're not evil. Sam has some strong powers he hasn't become in tune with yet, and if he were to go in the wrong direction then he _could_ become evil. But I don't think that brother of his is going to let that happen."

She nodded her head slowly. "So..these visions mean...?"

"You've got some abilities too. I don't know what but..." Missouri sighed softly. "But you've got some pretty strong ones as well. Sam has the same ability as you, seeing things before they happen. He saw his poor girlfriend's death but didn't know then what it was."

"How do I stop it?" Lucy wasn't so sure she wanted this ability thing.

"Oh honey, you can't stop them I'm afraid. It will get better though, I can tell you that."

She sat back on the couch, pushing her hair back off her face. Really, all she wanted to do was go home and crawl under the covers. This in itself was like some horrible nightmare and she was ready for it to be over with already. Maybe when she woke up this would've just been a bad dream and her parents would still be there, she'd still have them--

"Lucy, it's not a dream." Missouri said, startling her.

"You heard that?"

"In a sense.." She raised an eyebrow and looked towards the window that faced her front yard. "And be sure to slap Dean the next time you see him."

"What? Why?"

"Because that boy is thinking dirty thoughts and I won't have it."

Lucy laughed for the first time all day, "What!"

"I swear, that boy thinks about one thing and one thing only." She shook her head before looking back to her, "those boys care an awful lot about you. And I can tell you feel the same way. Just be careful, your abilities will come out gradually. Don't try to force anything, it'll happen in its own time. There's something going to happen one of these days and I can't tell what but it definitely has to do with the Winchesters."

"Is it bad?" She asked, watching as Missouri stood from the couch.

"I can't tell, I'm afraid. Like I said, just be careful." She smiled then, "now let's find you all something to eat before you head back on the road. You haven't been eating properly and before long, you're going to be nothing but skin and bones."


	11. Chapter 11

Missouri and Sam were watching from the living room window, watching as Dean and Lucy were out in front of the house. Both were standing in front of the Impala, although Dean had the hood up and was looking at something. With the vision Sam and Lucy had about something happening to the car, Dean wasn't taking any chances. His "baby" had been totaled once, he wasn't going to let it happen again. Plus he said it could always use a tune-up.

Missouri shook her head with a smile, "those two.."

Sam laughed. "What do you see?"

"I see a lot. Although she's scared of...something, more than just her parents dying and the vision she's had."

"What about Dean?" Truth be told, Sam worried about Dean probably more than Dean worried about Sam. Of course they could (and would) argue for days on end about who worried about who more but Sam felt like he worried more about his older brother. Dean had a lot on his shoulders for a lot of years. He had memories and experiences Sam hadn't had. Dean kept his emotions on lock down, not wanting to seem weak. He didn't want anyone to see that he felt anything. He had a wall up around him that very few people could penetrate. Sam was one of the people that got to see the wall crumble a bit every now and then but still, Dean kept his guard up more than he let it down.

Missouri was silent for a few moments, watching as Dean stood next to Lucy pointing at the engine of the car. He looked to be explaining something and for once, he didn't look so damn grumpy and stressed. She loked over at the younger Winchester with a small smile, "he's scared as well."

"Of what? I mean, I know he's scared of the demon.."

She nodded, because that was a big part of the fear inside Dean. He'd lost so much already and didn't want to lose his brother too. "That's part of it but...there's something else. Something I can't quite pinpoint. He's got more layers than anyone I've met before."

Sam nodded his head in agreement as he watched the two outside. "You think he'll ever be...you know, happy?" It was a question he asked himself a lot, wanting nothing more than to go back to being 'normal'. He wanted them both to have normal lives, with normal 9-5 jobs.

"I don't know," She said quietly before placing her hand on Sam's shoulder. "I can't see those things and I wish I could tell you that you'll both be happy...and normal. But Sam, you and I know what's out there. I don't know if things will ever be normal."

"Yeah I know. Wishful thinking, I guess."

She smiled some. "I understand. And I wish I could help."

Sam shook his head, watching as his brother leaned under the hood of his precious car before looking back, motioning for Lucy to follow. She did so a few seconds later. "Will she be okay?"

"I think so. She's confused. And scared. You're both going to have to help her, protect her."

"Of course." That was a question that needed no answer, of course they would help and protect Lucy. She was their friend and she was in this as much as they were.

"Good." Missouri smiled again and moved past him, "come eat. I know you're starving."

* * *

Lucy was trying her best to listen to what Dean was talking about. But engines, carburetors, spark plugs, oil and the right type of gasoline to use in his precious car was boring and confusing to her. Dean was going over every inch of the car to make sure nothing was out of line or broken or anything wrong, and the whole time was trying to explain it all to Lucy. She'd learned a bit from her father while growing up but honestly? It was like speaking Chinese to her. But she just pretended to pay attention.

Dean eventually straightened up and waited until she did the same before closing the hood. "It looks fine...I mean, nothing's out of the ordinary. I've checked both sets of breaks.." He let out a sigh as he wiped his hands off on his jeans.

Lucy slid her hands into her jean pockets before leaning back against the hood. "Maybe it's not going to happen.."

"Sam had the same vision thing as you. He's been right on every time now." He shrugged a shoulder and did the same, leaning back until they were shoulder to shoulder. "We'll just be careful."

She was chewing on her lip again, something she really hadn't stopped doing since she talked to Missouri alone. Looking down at her shoes, she finally asked, "do you think I'm going to turn all evil?"

"No," He answered immediately.

"But you don't-"

"_No_," He said firmly before pushing himself up off the hood of the car. "You're not evil and neither is Sammy."

"Missouri said there were others like...us."

"Yes. But that doesn't mean you're all evil or whatever." He ran a hand through his hair with a sigh, "Nothing's going to happen to you. Neither of us is going to let anything happen."

"But you can't stop everything."

"No, but I can sure as hell try."

She nodded and dropped her arms to her sides. Moving away from the car, she walked around to the trunk. "Do Sam's visions hurt everytime? I mean, it didn't hurt last night when I was sleeping...it just felt like I woke up from a really vivid nightmare."

"I don't know. I think most of them start like a raging headache. I did walk in once and he'd fallen out of the bed, woken himself up from one of them." He shrugged a shoulder, "And I tease him about being a geek and a freak but..I don't know. I wish I could help him sometimes."

"You do help him, by not treating him differently."

He laughed as he walked back to where she was standing. "I don't think I could treat him differently. He's my dorky little brother."

"Even if he's three feet taller than you?" She said teasingly, the first trace of a smile on her face since she'd come outside to join him.

Dean snorted and gave her what was supposed to be a stern look. "He's not _that_ much taller than me."

* * *

Missouri insisted that the three of them should sleep at her place that night, just to get a little extra rest. Dean had wanted to get back out on the road but knew there was no use in arguing with Missouri, plus he knew that if anyone could help Lucy then it was Missouri. So Dean had crashed pretty early, taking one of the rooms upstairs. Missouri had done the same, making sure to tell Sam and Lucy to get some sleep sometime that night...although she knew they probably wouldn't be sleeping until late at night anyway.

Sam and Lucy were sitting out on the front porch, listening as semi-trucks rumbled in the distance and crickets chirped around them. The other houses on the street were mostly dark except for a few where some people must've still been awake. The two of them had been quiet for awhile, Sam only moved to get them both something to drink. He was leaning back in his chair and finally sighed. "So you ever think your life would turn out this weird?"

She turned her head at his voice and smiled some, shaking her head after a long moment. "I always knew my life was pretty weird because I don't know many girls who grow up learning how to lay salt lines or how to throw a knife by age five. And I knew about the..yellow-eyed demon from a pretty young age too. My dad talked about it after you, your brother and your dad showed up. But I never thought it would affect me so much. I never...imagined any of this to be honest. The fire at my parents' house...the vision you and I both had.."

"Yeah. It's a lot to take in and I know that."

Lucy let out a sigh as she leaned her head back in the chair she was sitting in, closing her eyes after a moment. "And you don't know what any of this means?"

"We found a kid, in Indiana, who didn't fit the pattern of kids whose mother's died on their six month birthday. He'd seen the demon, said that it said it had plans for kids like him-"

"So...kids like us?"

Sam nodded, "yeah. The demon told this kid that there was a war coming. And we're the soldiers. As for what any of that means, I have no clue."

"What happened to him?"

"A hunter killed him. Tried to come after me too." Sam smiled a little wryly at that, "didn't work obviously."

"Do you honestly think we'll...go all evil?"

He turned his head to look at her but her eyes were still closed. If he hadn't heard the fear in her voice, he would've thought she looked pretty calm. "I don't know. I'd like to say 'no' but...well we all know things don't ever go as planned."

"Yeah. Unfortunately." Lucy smiled at him before she opened her eyes and stood up from her chair, "we should get some sleep Sammy."

He rolled his eyes at the nickname but nodded and stood from his own chair. "Yeah, yeah. And who said you could call me Sammy?"

"Please, I've been calling you that since you were a shrimp!"

Sam reached around her to open the door for her, letting her pass in front of him to go inside the quiet house. He locked the door behind them and they started for the stairs. "Yeah well who's the shrimp now?" He asked quietly.

Lucy nearly had to crane her neck all the way back to look up at him and groaned, shaking her head. "So not right. You're a damn giant!"

He just laughed, pushing her up the stairs.


	12. Chapter 12

Sleep actually came pretty easily that night for Lucy. She went to sleep and didn't have her usual nightmares and didn't wake up clawing at the blankets or sheets. She halfway wondered if it was because she was in Missouri's house. The woman could put them all in their place but Lucy had been put right at ease with the older woman. She felt a sort of kinship with her, even aside from whatever psychic abilities any of them had. Plus it had helped to talk to Sam some, to get a little more insight to the man he had become.

The morning dawned early though and she found herself awake just as the sun had risen over the horizon. The house was still silent so that must have meant the guys were still passed out and Lucy couldn't tell if Missouri was up or not. She took her time getting up though, stretching her arms over her head and pushing the hair out of her face. For once, she didn't feel so tired and exhausted which was a nice change from the past couple of days. She made her way out of the small bedroom and quietly went down the hallway to the bathroom located on the upstairs floor. She ducked inside and closed the door behind her, thankful that for first time since she joined the Winchesters' that they had an actual decent bathroom. She still had to share it with the boys but at least it didn't look like an outhouse! She took the opportunity to really look at herself in the mirror, noticing how the circles under her eyes were just a little less noticeable after a decent night's sleep. She had to admit that she looked a little better as a whole. Now if she could just keep sleeping like she had the night before, then maybe she'd start feeling like an actual human being again. She left the bathroom a few minutes later and noticed how the hallway was just a little bit brighter now, but the rooms the boys were still had their doors closed. Lucy decided to take the opportunity to grab a change of clothes and head back to the bathroom. She figured she deserved to spend more than five minutes in the shower, at least to feel just a little more like a woman.

Dean woke up as the light in his room got brighter and he could hear things beginning to happen outside the window. Birds were chirping and cars were pulling in and out of driveways. He opened his eyes and took a moment to just stare up at the ceiling. It felt peaceful in the house, and even he could admit that it felt a bit like home. A strange thought coming from Dean Winchester since he'd never felt like he'd been at home anywhere after the age of four. He let out a sigh and stretched almost cat-like in the bed before he sat up. Everything in the house seemed quiet as he stood from the bed, rubbing at the crick in his neck that had formed overnight. He grabbed a t-shirt from his bag and changed into it before leaving his room. He peeked in on his brother, who was sprawled across the bed, his legs hanging off the end. Dean smiled some and shook his head, closing the door quietly behind him.

The bathroom door at the end of the hallway opened just as he turned to head that way himself. Lucy exited the bathroom; her dark hair was still wet from her shower and hanging down over her shoulders. She had a towel in her hand, trying to rub some of the excess water out of her hair. She was wearing a pink tank top, which was actually the first pink thing he'd ever seen her wear...or at least that he could remember. She was also wearing a pair of jeans that rode low on her hips, which was tempting him more than he would ever admit to. Lucy was also barefoot, making her even shorter than she normally was. She smiled brightly at him when she saw him, "morning...you just get up?" 

Dean nodded his head, momentarily distracted as he watched her fingers slide through her hair before pushing it over her shoulder. "Yeah, I didn't know anyone else was up."

"Well you might want to wait a few minutes before grabbing a shower. I think I used up all the hot water..." She looked a little sheepish as she slung the towel over one of her shoulders. "I just hadn't taken a shower longer than five minutes in...well, it seems like forever." 

He laughed and shook his head. "I'll grab one later. Want to go grab breakfast? We can bring something back for Missouri and Sam. Although I think Sam might sleep through till tomorrow if we let him..." 

"Yeah sure, let me dry my hair first." She moved past him with a smile, "And I have to grab some shoes obviously."

"Just meet me downstairs," He said as he tried not to inhale the scent of whatever shampoo she used. He'd been subjected to it enough in the car but right up close and personal? That was almost near torture.

She nodded and ducked into her room as he went down the stairs.

Lucy and Dean left the house a little while later, intent on finding a suitable breakfast place for themselves. They were planning on taking food back for Missouri and Sam but figured it'd still be a bit before they awoke and started looking for them. Lucy was in the passenger seat, flipping through the tape collection Dean had. Of course she was a little weirded out that he even owned tapes since they had gone out of style way back in the 90's. "Seriously, have you ever considered moving on to cd's? They sell all of this on cd, you know." She asked as she held up a Led Zeppelin tape that looked like it'd seen many better days.

He gave a snort as he drove down the street towards town. "Please, that'd be sacrilegious. Tapes do me just fine." He reached over and snatched the tape from her hands and shoved it into the tape deck that had been empty when they got into the car.

"What do you do when the tapes wear out?" She asked as she set his precious tape collection back where it'd been sitting.

He pulled to a stop at a red light and gave her a weird look. "What'd you mean?"

"You know, tapes wear out after awhile. Plus with all the banging around you and Sam do, I'm surprised one or two haven't been stepped on." 

"Don't talk about my tape collection like that." 

"Dean..."

He shook his head quickly as the light changed and he pressed his foot onto the gas. "That's just ridiculous. These things will be buried with me when I'm old and finally croak."

"Dean!"

The Impala was almost to the center of the intersection when he saw the other car out of the corner of his eye. He slammed his foot on the break as soon as he could, sucking in a deep breath as the other car ran the red light for its side, barely missing the front fender of Dean's car. His heart felt like it was in his throat and he turned slowly to look at Lucy. Her eyes were wide and she was staring straight ahead. "You okay?" He finally asked after a long moment of silence. Even his voice sounded weird to his ears though.

She nodded finally. "Uh huh..."

"Still hungry?" 

She shook her head. "No."

"Good." Dean checked both directions to make sure nothing else was coming to slam into either side of his car and turned around, heading back in the direction of Missouri's house.

Lucy looked over at him, "that's what Sam and I both saw..." 

"Yeah apparently."

She rubbed at her forehead and closed her eyes tightly. "I cannot believe this is actually happening."

Dean kept quiet as he paid more attention to the road in front of him than normal; he didn't want a repeat heart attack like he swore he'd just had. Finally though, he pulled up in front of Missouri's house and parked the car. Once the ignition was off, he yanked the keys out and laid them down on the seat next to him. "This doesn't mean anything Luce."

"Yes it does. That car would've slammed into the passenger side of the car, flipping it more than once and it would've caught on fire..."

"But we saw it in time." 

"Right." Lucy let out a sigh and looked over at him, "that scared the hell out of me."

"You and me both. Look, nothing happened and we're both fine. Crisis averted."

"For the time being."

He had to agree with her there and nodded as he got out of the car. She did the same and the two of them started up the walkway towards the front door. He reached out to catch her arm, turning her towards him. "Look, we're going to be okay. Nothing happened and we're fine..." Dean had to stoop down some to see her eyes, but Lucy kept ducking her head down further. "Luce, look at me."

She finally did and nodded her head. "I know we're fine. But what if-"

"Nope. We can't think in 'what ifs' because that'll just drive us all crazy. If you've got the same weird psychic thing that Sam does then we'll deal with it. Let's go inside, get our stuff and get on the road. I know you want to get to Austin as soon as possible."

She let Dean go ahead of her and followed behind him. That had been too close of a call for Lucy. She didn't want another dream/nightmare or whatever these things were to come true again. Her heart was still pounding and her hands were shaking just a little bit. She was a little scared to get back on the road, even if she did want to go home.


	13. Chapter 13

Once they left Missouri's house and got back on the road, later than they had planned due to Sam waking up late and Missouri insisting she fix them something to eat, Dean decided to let Sam do the driving for the time being. If he was being honest with himself, Dean would say that he was scared absolutely shitless after the near-accident that morning. The fact that both Lucy and Sam were having the same visions was terrifying enough. That meant that one day, if he couldn't save either of them, then he would have to kill both of them. His father's words echoed in his head over and over as he sat in the passenger seat, sunglasses covering his eyes. That would be the hardest day of his life if that day ever came. And as things progressed and snowballed, he had a feeling that day was going to come sooner rather than later.

Sam knew what John Winchester had told his oldest that day in the hospital. Guilt had weighed on Dean long enough before he finally had to tell his brother. But Lucy didn't know about that. She knew a little of the 'war' they'd heard was coming and she knew there were countless others that had some sort of ability like her and Sam. But she didn't know that if Dean couldn't save Sam, then he'd have to kill him. And that meant that if Dean couldn't save Lucy, then she would have to be killed to. How do you tell someone that had been through so much tragedy already and was just learning new things about themselves that they may have to die by a friend's hand? He wasn't sure how he would tell Lucy. He wasn't even sure if he would, although he knew the nagging would be in the back of his head until he decided.

Lucy was lying in the backseat pretending to be asleep. She was pretending so she wouldn't have to talk, although neither of the guys was talking much as it was. Sam was playing some Metallica tape but it was down low enough to where it wasn't too disturbing. Ever since that morning Lucy hadn't be able to turn her brain off. She just wanted to get home, well...her apartment. It was as close to home as she was going to get for a good, long while. It was somewhere familiar though, somewhere 'normal' and that was really what she needed. She was convinced if she could go back to a place familiar, then maybe she'd start to _feel _more normal. Because after that morning? She wasn't so sure she wasn't completely crazy.

* * *

They reached the Oklahoma state line late in the afternoon but stopping wasn't an option. They decided to keep driving but all three agreed they'd stop and find a motel when whoever the driver was got too tired to continue. They stopped for gas sometime after entering Oklahoma and that was where Lucy took over driving. Both of the guys looked utterly exhausted and she really was getting tired of sitting back and watching the road pass by them. Dean crawled into the backseat, using his jacket as a makeshift pillow and was pretty much out as soon as he laid his head down. Sam was in the passenger seat as Lucy drove, alternating between looking over a map and through his dad's journal. But eventually even he drifted off, laid up against the window. Lucy had to admit it was kind of nice for it to be nothing but her, the car and the open road in front of her. Of course without one of the guys pestering the other or telling some story that sounded too far out there to be real, her mind had time to wander and think.

It was a little weird to be driving Dean's _baby_. He'd probably die for the damn thing before he let it out of his sight for more than ten minutes at a time. But even she had to admit there was a lot of power sitting behind the wheel of the car. She remembered watching him drive it around after he'd gotten his license. It was really the first time she'd seen him look happy. Of course he laughed and smiled but there was always an underlying sadness to his face, his eyes mostly. But that night as they drove out to a field and parked in the darkness, he looked happy. It was just radiating out of him as they laid themselves out on the hood. That was a move that John Winchester wouldn't like but he wasn't around to chastise them for it at the moment so they didn't care. She had noticed that Dean was really careful as he moved on top of the hood though, not wanting to put a scratch in the precious paint. And even as he drove her back to her house, where the lights were all on and they both knew her father was inside the door with a shotgun loaded and ready, he looked so proud to be behind the wheel of the Impala.

Of course back then things seemed so much more innocent than they did now. Even though they all knew the things that were out there, which monsters were real and what ghost stories were true, they were still kids. Now Dean wasn't likely to let anyone put gas in the Impala, let alone drive it. Of course Sam was allowed by default. But it meant a lot that he let her drive, that he actually agreed when she said she'd do some of the driving if he needed to rest. Plus it helped Lucy out, she actually felt needed and like she had some job.

* * *

He was lying on his back in the backseat, stretched out about as far as his legs would let him. Dean had managed to sleep for about an hour and actually felt pretty rested for once. It wasn't often he napped when Sam was driving; he tried but could only manage to sleep ten to fifteen minutes at a time. As he began to wake up, he could hear Sam and Lucy talking quietly in the front. But Dean didn't make a move to sit up or give any indication that he was awake.

"So you ever thought about going back to school?" She asked, her voice was low as not to disturb Dean in the backseat.

It took Sam a moment to answer and Dean thought for a minute that he just wasn't going to answer. But he let out a sigh and then started talking. "Maybe. Eventually. I don't know, I guess it depends on how everything ends up."

"Do you want to?"

"Yeah...kind of." Sam laughed softly, "I'm real decisive aren't I? There's a big part of me that does want to go back, get back into law school and all of that. But the other part of me...doesn't want to leave again."

"Leave? You mean, leave Dean?" She asked again.

Lying in the backseat, Dean cracked open an eye and looked up towards the seats. He couldn't see anything besides the back of both of their heads. But even without seeing Sam's face, he knew the look he had. He closed his eye just in case Sam looked back and caught him awake. He wanted to hear the answer.

"Yeah. He's all I have left," Sam answered simply. It was the most obvious answer in the world. They were the only family they had left. If something happened to Dean then Sam was going to be left alone and vice versa. And sure, the two of them could have their moments where they'd swear up and down that they each wished they were only children but at the end of the day they were still brothers who cared about each other immensely. Even if Dean swore up and down there would be no chick flick moments.

Then Sam turned it all around on her with the question, "do you want to go back to school?"

"I'd like to," She said almost immediately. "I don't know _now_ since all of this other...stuff. We'll see."

"You can always go back. That's what I've been told countless times."

"Very true. You'd make a good lawyer Sam.."

Dean sighed inwardly, starting to feel a little guilty about taking Sam away from Stanford. He and John had kept a faraway eye on Sam while he was at college. They never let him know that they were there checking up on him and even after all of this time, Dean hadn't told him. Sam was smart though, he had been destined to go to some big time college and do something more with his life. And then John had disappeared and Dean freaked out, knowing something was wrong but he wasn't able to put his finger on it. Sam was the first person that Dean thought of to help him track his father. He hadn't meant to drag Sam away from college, from his law school interview. But then the fire happened and Jess died...and then something had changed. But inside, Dean wanted that for Sam still. Wanted his little brother to have a "normal" life; a guy who got a good college education, got a good job, met the girl next door and married her and went on to have 2.5 kids. He hoped that one day Sam would get to do all of that.

He also wanted Lucy to have the same kind of "normal" life (although he wasn't sure what constituted normal anymore). She deserved to finish her own degree and be happy in her life, not have to deal with the random visions and nightmares. She shouldn't have to deal with ghosts, demons or spirits who are too pissed off to leave the real world. Shifting in the seat some, he pushed himself to sit up, acting like he'd just woken up from a long nap. He was inwardly promising himself that they would all get to have something of a normal life one of these days.

Lucy saw him sit up and smiled at him in the rearview mirror. "Hey you sleep okay?"

Sam turned and smiled at him as well. Dean sat back against the seat, noticing just how odd it was to be in the backseat of his own car...and not for any other reason besides riding in the backseat. "Yeah I did actually," He said as he rubbed a hand over his face.

"Good because I think I like driving your car. A lot." Lucy glanced back at him with a grin, "So that means you're screwed now."

He gave a snort as he ran a hand through his hair, making some of it stick up. "_Please_, I'll be driving after our next stop."


	14. Chapter 14

Lucy was still driving as she wove the car through downtown Austin and past all of the lights, restaurants and people. Her building was located not far from the downtown area and was a fairly new complex with five stories. She parked in the normal spot she usually did and sighed softly. It was weird to come home. It was a strange feeling knowing that she had left and everything was normal. Her parents had been alive. Now she had come back and everything was turned into a tailspin. Her parents were gone. Lucy shook her head, moreso to herself than the two men who were watching her carefully, and pulled the keys from the ignition. She opened the door and climbed out, watching out of the corner of her eye as Dean and Sam each got out of the car. Sam reached in the backseat to grab their things and handed her bag out to her.

"Thanks," She said quietly. She almost didn't want to disturb the quiet that had taken over the complex. That had been why she'd chosen that complex in the first place. It was close enough to everything where it didn't feel like she had to drive a hundred miles to get some place but it was also far enough away where she wasn't right smack in the middle of the city. The people she'd met in the complex weren't many but the ones she had managed to meet since moving there had all been nice and polite.

The guys followed Lucy inside the first building and towards the elevators. All three were quiet as they waited for the elevator to reach the first floor. Once the doors opened, they filed inside and each leaned back against the wall after she pushed the button for the third floor. She set one of her bags down and started to dig around in her smaller bag for her keys, not remembering where she'd stuck them after she left Oklahoma and ran to Bobby's. She'd been lucky to grab the things she had, but it felt like it'd been forever since she'd been there. But she eventually found the keys as the elevator came to a stop. She picked up her stuff and walked out, with Dean and Sam walking behind her. Her apartment was near the end of the hallway and Dean nearly ran into the back of her as she stopped abruptly. They all dissolved into laughter that was the cause of little to no sleep in the past few days. Sam leaned against the wall next to the door as Lucy unlocked the door, well aware of just how close Dean was. It was distracting and he wasn't helping anything one bit. But she managed to get the door unlocked and pushed it open, reaching in with a hand to flip on the light. She was surprised when Dean's hand stopped her arm, shaking his head and moving inside before she could protest even the least little bit. She heard Dean pull something from his pocket and knew in an instant what he was doing. He'd pulled a gun out to check her apartment. "Just in case," Sam mumbled as he moved inside with her.

She let out a soft sigh and the two of them waited in the doorway until Dean found another lightswitch and flipped it on. White light flooded the main living area of the apartment and into the kitchen that was off to the left. She looked around, almost not recognizing the place. It wasn't that anything was out of the ordinary, in fact everything was exactly the way she'd left it. But it felt like it'd been forever since she'd been there. She set her things down and reached back to close the door, watching amusedly as Dean and Sam both moved around the apartment to make sure there were no demons hiding behind any doors. Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair and went to check the pile of mail on her kitchen counter. She'd had a friend checking on things once it was clear she was going to be gone for an extended period of time. Leaning her hip against the counter, she was vaguely aware of Sam and Dean talking while she started to seperate the junk from the bills.

Once she was sufficiently sick of looking at the massive amount of bills she'd acquired, she set all of that aside and went to find the guys. In ten minutes it had gotten much too quiet. She found them both out on the small balcony that overlooked the parking lot. Each were leaning against the railing but Sam was looking down while Dean was looking straight out at who knows what. Lucy slipped out behind them, "Enjoying the view?"

Dean looked back at her with a smile. "Yeah it's a nice place."

"Didn't find any ghosts or goblins?"

"Nah. You've got enough wards and salt lines to keep them away."

Lucy laughed as she elbowed her way inbetween the guys, looking down over the railing. She could make out the front of the Impala, sitting quiet and stoic in her parking spot. "Well I was taught right. I just didn't want to stop you two from acting all chivalrous so I didn't say anything."

Sam looked down at her, "We put our stuff in what we thought was the guest bedroom."

"Oh yeah that's fine. I'd only gotten a bed in there like two months ago, haven't had time to do anything else for it." She turned around, leaning her back against the railing. The second bedroom had been full of junk for so long that she'd almost forgotten she'd gotten a bed for it. But it had been on sale and who knew when she would have guests come by! It'd been too good of a deal to pass up.

Sam covered a yawn and pushed away from the railing. "I'm gonna clean up and crash, I think." He said as he moved towards the open doorway.

His brother snorted, "so you get the bed right?"

"I'm taller."

"I'm older."

Sam rolled his eyes, "Yes I get the bed. I called it first, you're just too slow."

"Rock, paper, scissors?"

Lucy laughed, pushing Dean's hands down as he'd gotten ready to play the game only five year old's should be playing. "Sam take the bed for tonight. Dean, the couch does pull out believe it or not."

He sighed but relented, watching as Sam headed inside and disappeared. Once he was gone, Dean turned around to face the railing, leaning over to look down at the parking lot. Lucy followed suit and did the same standing next to him. "I really like this building." She said quietly after a moment.

"Yeah it's not so bad. Well, I mean it's nicer than any other place I've stayed in. Must be nice to have a place of your own." He said, looking over at her.

She nodded her head. That'd been a big part of the reason why she had left Oklahoma. She wanted to be on her own, to be somewhat normal and not live under the threat of _something_ coming to get her. Of course she took precautions, what with the salt lines and possession charms the guys had seen, but for the most part she'd been able to live the life of a normal college student and a normal adult woman. She'd been able to laugh and do things with friends, friends that had no idea tha she hid a shotgun in her closet or a knife in her nightstand. "Yeah. It was nice to have a place of my own.."

"Was?"

"I've got to get rid of it. I mean, if I'm going to come with you two..." She trailed off, not wanting to overstep any boundaries or anything. She still wanted to go with them, see this all to the end.

Dean only nodded his head, understanding exactly where she was coming from. All three of them had lost so much and there were still things to lose probably. He knew she would only be an asset to him and Sam. "Up to you if you want to get rid of this place. But I'm just saying, it might be nice to have a place to go to after all this is done."

Lucy couldn't really argue with him there. But there'd be no point in paying rent on a place she wasn't going to be in for awhile. Especially paying rent when she really didn't have the money. "Yeah but I can't afford that. I think...I'm going to pay off my bills tomorrow, or get them about as close to being paid off as possible, and then see if one of my friends wants to take over the lease. Then I can at least keep my stuff somewhere."

"That'd be a good idea." He smiled some. "You know, I never thought about what we'd do after all this is over. Like, will it really be over? Or will there still be something out there that we have to practically kill ourselves over to get rid of?"

"Good question. There'd still be things out there, you and I both know that. But something as big as this demon? God, I hope there's nothing else like that thing." She visibly shuddered at the thought of something else like the yellow-eyed demon being out there. That would be the last thing she'd wish on her worst enemy.

He hoped there wasn't either because as much as he tried to prepare himself for what could be coming in the future, he knew it would either make or break him. If they defeated the yellow-eyed demon and there was something else out there like it? He wasn't sure he could do it again, physically and mentally. "I hope not. Let's just say there's not so I don't start driving myself even more crazy."

Both of them grew quiet as they listened to the sounds around the complex. They could hear cars and trucks off in the distance but other than that, the nighttime air was filled with crickets and the wind blowing gently. It was as close to peaceful as they were going to get. But Dean was thankful for it. Maybe they could all finally rest.


	15. Chapter 15

Waking up to the noises of other people in her apartment was quite the surprise. Lucy had fallen asleep the night before and actually managed to sleep through the night without a nightmare or anything else. It was one of the first times in a long while that she woke up feeling rested. So when she woke up and heard movement outside of her bedroom, she almost forgot that there were two men in her apartment as well. Crawling out of the bed, she dug through her dresser for a pair of sweatpants and pulled them on and made sure that she wasn't wearing a t-shirt that had a hole in it somewhere. Her luck? She was. Finding another, she yanked it over her head before leaving her bedroom.

Sam was on the couch with his laptop sitting on the coffee table in front of him. He was hunched over, his hair threatening to drop into his eyes and reading something on the screen that Lucy couldn't make out. A cup of coffee was sitting next to the laptop but he looked too engrossed with the computer screen to pay attention to it. She found Dean in the kitchen, standing in front of the refrigerator with the door wide open. Another cup of coffee was sitting on the counter, in a flowered ceramic mug that she'd probably had since she moved away from her parents' house. Stifling a laugh, she walked into the kitchen behind him. "Mornin'..."

He jumped, slightly startled, and spun away from the refrigerator towards her. He narrowed his eyes at her momentarily before smiling at her. "You know, you have absolutely no food in your fridge."

He reached out and closed the door as she moved around him long enough to find another mug to put coffee in for herself. "Well when you're not in your apartment for awhile, there tends to be no food. Plus, one of my friends, Paula, had been coming over here to check on things. If there was anything edible, she might've helped herself."

"Makes sense." He'd grown up moving all the time; it wasn't often when Sam and Dean had more than a can of spaghetti-o's and some bread. The only time their father had done any kind of grocery shopping was when they'd settled in Oklahoma. When they stayed with Pastor Jim, he'd been the one to do the grocery shopping. Their father had been too busy studying and researching to worry about finding food.

She smiled as she leaned back against the counter, taking a drink of the warm caffeinated liquid. "So what's your brother in there doing?"

"Looking for jobs. Well, the demon-hunting type of jobs at least. Ash is on the look out for anything that might lead us in the right direction to the demon but we haven't heard from him yet." He sighed softly and cast a glance out towards the living room where Sam was still hunched over the computer. "I kind of wish we could just take a break in a lot of ways. Don't get me wrong, I want to find the son of a bitch but...I'm _tired_."

The dark circles under his eyes weren't a clue to Lucy or anything but she didn't mention it. "Well take a couple of days to do your research or whatever it is you two do. You can stay here and I promise I'll get you food so you don't waste away."

"Maybe I can convince Sam to relax..." He mumbled as he picked up the flowered mug of coffee.

"Easier said than done." Lucy smiled some and moved to leave the kitchen. "I'm going to jump in the shower, and then I'll head out to the store to get some provisions. Make a list if you need anything."

Dean just nodded his head, watching as she left and disappeared towards her bedroom. With a sigh, he carried his coffee out into the living room and took a seat next to his brother. "Find anything?"

Sam was quiet for a moment before he let out a breath he'd been holding and sat back on the couch. His muscles stretched and pulled as he'd been in the same position for quite some time. Reaching up with one hand, he rubbed the back of his neck. "Not really. Ash hasn't seen any movement demon-wise. Nothing really in this area that looks like anything we deal with either. I'd say we leave tomorrow..."

"Why not hang out for a couple of days? Let Lucy get her stuff settled, decide what she wants to do..."

"Dean..." Sam sighed, rubbing a hand over his face before he dropped it onto the couch beside him. "Are you sure we shouldn't get back out on the road?"

"Look at it this way Sammy, we can do some research here and plan out where we're going next. Let her settle stuff here and decide on what she wants to do. I know she wants to find that bastard as much as we do. And I _know_ she can handle herself when it comes down to it. So let's take a couple of days, make sure we've got enough ammo and things."

He stared at Dean for a good, long, hard moment before he finally just relented. He couldn't argue with Dean too much on what he said. It would be better to be in a place that was secure enough to where they could set their things out to do research. They could rest up, get the things they needed and then get back out on the road. "Alright, fine. We'll do it your way. For a couple of days at least."

* * *

Something as normal as going grocery shopping seemed out of the ordinary now for Lucy. Of course she hadn't exactly done any grocery shopping since leaving Austin to go stay with her parents. Her mom was always into cooking things, especially when her only child would come home for a visit so when she was in Oklahoma there had been no need to go out and get anything. The pantry had been full to the brim with food. Humming under her breath to a song she'd heard on the radio on the way over, she pushed the cart down one of the aisle's, glancing down at the list Dean had scrawled for her. Donuts, cupcakes and...bread.

Well at least he picked out one healthy-like thing. She shook her head and relented on the donuts, grabbing a box as she passed by them. She'd convinced Dean that she would take great care in driving his car and had left them both at her place while she did some grocery shopping. She wasn't buying anything major since she was still convinced that she was going to go with them in a few days when they left on the next hunt. She had to admit though that being away from them for a little bit and doing something as normal as buying groceries was nice. She reached up to grab a loaf of bread when her phone began to vibrate from inside the pocket of the jeans she'd put on. Tossing the bread into the top of the cart, she pulled her phone out to answer it. "Hello?"

"Did you get the donuts?"

Rolling her eyes with a laugh she said. "Of course I did. We can't have you wasting away into nothing Dean." She turned the cart around to head towards the front to check out. "Did you need something?"

"Nah not really. Sam got bored of me hanging around him while he did research. I think there may be something out West that'll pan out; you want to come with us? We're talking about leaving the day after tomorrow."

She sighed softly as she got into line between a couple of old women with their carts loaded nearly to the brim. She'd be there for awhile it looked like. But every other register had a line about the same so there was no point in moving. "I need to pay some bills and cancel some things but yeah. I'd like to. Does it have anything to do with you-know-what?"

"Doesn't look like it." He let out his own sigh into the phone. "I know you want this thing gone as much as I do, Luce. We just have to be patient...which is easier said than done."

"I know." She _did_ know but that didn't make waiting any easier. Moving forward in the line, she straightened out some. "I'm in line right now so I'll be back in a little while. Do you need anything else while I'm out?"

"Actually...we need to get some supplies. Come by and pick me up. We can go together."

"What, are you aggravating Sam _that_ badly?"

He snorted into the phone. "No!"

"Yeah right." She laughed softly but nodded her head even though he couldn't see her. "Okay let me check out here and I'll swing by to pick you up."

* * *

Lucy was at her apartment long enough to drop off groceries before Dean was nearly dragging her back out into the parking lot and to the car. He swung the car keys around his finger as he hurried across the parking lot. She nearly had to run to keep up with his stride. "What are you in such a damn hurry for?" She grumbled a bit as she reached the passenger door and waited for him to unlock it.

"Nothing really." He got inside the car and waited for her to do the same before he started it up. "I think I'm just antsy to be outside."

"Plus you were annoying Sam." She said matter-of-factly.

"And I was annoying Sam." Dean agreed as he wove the car out of the parking lot and onto the street. "But I'm starving too, so that's my ulterior motive."

She shook her head and just smiled as she looked out the window as he drove in the general direction of downtown Austin. It was good that the three of them could somewhat relax for now; she knew that it wouldn't always be this relaxing or fun. Not when things started to hit the fan.


	16. Chapter 16

_AN: Spoilers for episode 217- "Heart" for the next couple of chapters. _

* * *

Three Days Later

Leaving Texas behind for good was never something that Lucy had planned on. It was always there, a beacon of the life that she had made after leaving her parents' place in Oklahoma. She'd gone to school in Texas, made friends in Texas, and even dated a few people in Texas. It was as close to normal as the daughter of a demon hunter could get. But a few short days after reaching Austin, Lucy had things set up so they could leave. She had a bag packed of essentials; mostly clothing and toiletries. Anything else was either staying in the apartment or had been put in storage. It was probably a good thing that she didn't have many bills to take care of. Just a cell bill, rent and a car payment. But those had either been paid off or were being sent to Bobby's place. He would know how to get in touch with them if it was needed. Paula, one of Lucy's friends, was going to be taking over her lease and anything kept in the apartment would be there for her when and if she needed it. Lucy had talked to a few friends but for obvious reasons couldn't get into great detail about why she was leaving. Paula had questioned Lucy about why she needed to leave again so suddenly and why she needed to go with Sam and Dean specifically. But Lucy explained that she needed to get away, to deal with the death of her parents'. That wasn't too far from the truth; she just felt the need to leave out any information about the yellow-eyed demon. So as the three of them left Texas for California, Lucy said a silent prayer to whatever good was above. If they could defeat this thing, then maybe there was hope of them all having some kind of a normal life.

Dean did most of the driving for the first few days. They didn't stop much, trying to make good time on their way to the West Coast. Plus, neither man knew whether the FBI was hot on their trail or not. St. Louis and Milwaukee were still haunting them after all. They'd filled Lucy in on some of the specifics but didn't want to drag her into it more than they had to. She was involved enough as it was already. Sam and Lucy traded off on playing navigator though and somehow, the three person team seemed like it was going to work out.

California was one state that Sam never thought he'd step foot in again. It had been a place for solace from his father and the job they had been doing ever since they could remember. It had once been a place full of hopes and dreams of getting married and going to law school. But it had ended just like everything else in his life had; in a burst of flame and horror. It was no surprise to Lucy when he started to get jumpy and little more irritable as their drove their way into San Francisco. But she and Dean chose to ignore it as they packed themselves into a small hotel room. Unfortunately there had only been one room left with two beds so Lucy wasn't sure who would be relegated to the chair by the desk.

Sam took the chair first, setting his bag down next to it and pulling his laptop out before he sat down to do some research. Dean shook his head and sat down on the side of one of the beds. He reached for a smaller bag and pulled out a gun, starting to clean it. That meant Lucy was stuck with nothing to do, although she supposed she could help clean weapons. But instead she chose to take the other bed, lying out on top of the sheets. She stretched out as much as she could, completely unaware that she was being watched by Dean.

He'd been doing a good job of concentrating on the gun in his hand. But his eyes drifted up on their own accord when Lucy laid down. She was on her back with her hands under her head. Her dark hair was spilling out around the pillow like a halo, her eyes closed as she tried to take some semblance of a nap. The tank top she was wearing with her ever present jeans had ridden up, once again choosing to taunt him with the bit of tanned skin revealed. His fingers itched to reach across, brushing over the skin gently. He hurriedly looked down before he was caught staring and worked on pushing the thoughts he was having out of his head. Glancing over at his brother, Dean couldn't help but hope Sam found _something _on this case soon so he could quit being so damn distracted by...other things.

* * *

Dean finally got aggravated with both Sam and Lucy sometime around 7 p.m. and proceeded to kick them out of the hotel room to go find them all something suitable to eat. Sam was quiet as they drove down the street, looking for any fast food establishment. But that would meant that the two of them would have to agree on a place to get food. And that just wasn't happening. Lucy was a little tired of the normal McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger King's. Sam was just in an irritable mood as it was. 

Finally Sam just found the closest grocery store and the two of them headed inside to find what they wanted. Lucy figured they could at least get some stuff to make sandwiches or something that would keep in the mini-fridge in the hotel room. She had no idea how long they'd be in California but knew she couldn't be the only one sick of fast food and truck stop food. She threw a few things into a basket before going to find Sam, eventually finding him standing in front of an entire aisle of candy. He gave her a slightly childish smile when she stopped next to him. "I don't know, I couldn't think of anything else I wanted." He said before shoving his hands into the pockets of the dark blue jacket he wore.

"So get some candy." She shrugged, motioning to the basket she was holding. "I got some stuff for sandwiches, some chips and sodas. Thought that way we wouldn't have to keep going out to get food."

"Yeah good idea." He let out a sigh, glancing down at her. "Sorry I've been a pill today."

"What are you apologizing for?" Lucy let him take the basket from her and followed him up towards the registers.

"Being here is just weird, after all this time. Okay it hasn't been _that_ long but I don't know, I keep waiting for something to happen." He set the basket down on the register and started pulling things out so the cashier could scan them. "I almost want to just turn around and leave, forget the state even exists."

She couldn't even really begin to comprehend what he had gone through with losing his girlfriend. Of course they'd all dealt with deaths but Lucy had to figure out that losing a girlfriend the same way he'd lost his mother had to be one of the worst things ever. Sam didn't talk about it much besides a passing word here and there and she wasn't about to push him. "I can see how it'd be weird. And I can see why you'd be all moody about being back here. But you all have a job to do, just remember that."

He gave a sigh before grinning some at her. "Why'd you have to be so smart?"

"Hm...Good question." She shrugged as she handed a few bills to him to help pay for their stuff. "Apparently someone's got to be the smart one in this group, keep you all on your toes."

Sam laughed, the first real laugh she'd heard from him all day, and picked up the bags once he was done paying. "I think you might be right. Someone has to keep Dean out of trouble, after all."

* * *

They reached the hotel and found Dean sitting at the desk with the laptop open in front of him. Newspapers were scattered around him, red pen circling a few articles. He barely looked up when the door opened, only looking long enough to make sure it was Sam and Lucy. "Find anything?" Sam asked as Lucy took the bags from him, pulling out a few things to make them all sandwiches. 

Dean let out a sigh, leaning the chair back on two legs. "Not really. Well, besides the mayor being accused of having an affair. How come real life is always more interesting than the Springer show?"

"I'm surprised you haven't hijacked someone's network to look at porn," She said teasingly as she grabbed a soda for herself.

"Hey I actually _do_ work sometimes." He snorted as he stood from the chair, moving around his brother and grabbing something to eat for himself. "What, you couldn't just go get a burger?"

Lucy gave him a look before shaking her head. "No. Personally I'm a little sick of burgers and fries. So eat a sandwich, it's cheaper. And slightly homemade." She smiled at him before giving him a nudge with her hip ads she went to sit on one of the beds. "So what are we going to do if nothing pans out?"

Sam leaned over the laptop, reading over something on the screen. "It looks like the cops have been investigating women disappearing...well, mostly prostitutes. That might be something to check out."

"Yeah you do that Sammy. Check it out in the morning?"

He laughed as he sat down at the computer, nodding his head. "Yeah sure. Since you're too busy looking at porn.."

"I wasn't looking at porn!"

* * *

It took some doing but they finally managed to agree on a sleeping arrangement. Sam had taken the bed closest to the window, falling asleep nearly immediately once his head hit the pillow. Dean and Lucy stood on either side of the other bed, both looking slightly annoyed at the other. "Lucy just take the damn bed. I'll sleep in the chair." 

She sighed, sparing a glance back at Sam who was sound asleep behind them. "Dean just take the bed. I can sleep in the chair. It's not like I'm some wilting flower."

"No way."

"Since when are you so damn polite and all gentleman-like?"

He put his hands on his hips and glared at her. "Since I'm trying to get you to sleep in the damn bed so you'll be comfortable."

Lucy finally sighed, reaching up to run a hand through her hair. "Okay. Why don't we just act like big people and sleep in the same bed. It worked that one night when I couldn't sleep. That way we'll both be comfortable."

"You sure?"

She nodded and pulled the blankets back, crawling under them and lying down. "Yes. Now if your hands start wandering then I'll just be sure to slap you but I think you can keep your hands to yourself. Right?"

Dean just rolled his eyes and followed suit, climbing under the covers and laying back against the pillow. He reached up after a moment and turned the light off, engulfing the room in darkness. Lucy closed her eyes to try to will herself to sleep but it just wasn't working. Not when he was so damn close to her and she could hear him breathing. After awhile though, she moved closer to him, curling up against his side.

He raised an eyebrow when he felt her shift closer to him and really wanted to say something, but he didn't. Instead, Dean rolled towards her, wrapping one of his arms around her to pull her closer. She let out a soft laugh as she curled up closer. "Sorry. I uh...sleep better next to someone." Of course he would know that already since she'd slept right up next to him before. But still, she felt like she needed to give him some sort of explanation, for whatever it was worth.

He shrugged a shoulder the best he could. "Nah don't worry about it." It was kind of nice to have someone to sleep next to, someone soft and warm and who smelled of flowers. Definitely a nice change from the normal when he was stuck alone in a lumpy, cold bed.

And with that, the two of them fell into a peaceful, dreamless sleep. It was sadly the best kind of sleep either could hope for.

* * *

Lucy woke up tangled between the sheets and Dean. It wasn't exactly a bad way to wake up she supposed but it did make for a very uncomfortable position. How she'd ended up with her arm behind her head and Dean's heavy arm across her side, she'd never know. She actually didn't _want_ to know. The room was still bathed in darkness, although she could tell it was light outside from the little sliver of morning sunlight coming in through the heavy hotel curtain covering the window. It took Lucy a few minutes to untangle herself from Dean, trying to do it carefully as not to wake him. Of course Dean could sleep through a hurricane if he really wanted to so it wasn't that hard to get out of bed without waking him. Her muscles groaned and joints popped as she stretched once her feet were planted firmly on the floor. She looked around the room, noticing that the laptop was open and on. The other bed was empty. Which means Sam woke up before either of the two of them. This also meant he'd seen her and Dean wrapped around each other in bed. Oh _great_. 

She let out a sigh as she moved around to look at the laptop, to check out what he'd been reading. And he'd obviously found something pretty interesting. Another case of a murdered person, only this time it wasn't a prostitute. She frowned some as she scanned the article. There weren't too many details since it had just happened hours earlier but the police were still investigating. There had been a witness. Interesting. She jumped when the bathroom door swung open and Sam stepped out, pulling a jacket over his shoulders. "Jesus Christ...don't give a girl a heart attack or anything," She said as she stood up.

He smiled apologetically at her as he glanced in the mirror, reaching up with one hand to fix his hair. "Sorry. Did I wake you up? I was trying to be quiet.."

"Oh no...no. I slept pretty well." And now, Lucy could definitely feel her face heating up. "I mean, I woke up on my own. I just...sleep better with someone next to me." Groaning she shook her head, "know what? Nevermind. I'm going to stick my foot in my mouth but point is, I didn't want Dean sleeping in the chair."

He laughed softly, glancing to where his brother still slept. "Don't worry about it, really. Now if anything really freaky had been going on...then I'd be worried."

"We're not like that!"

He had the grace not to give her a '_yeah right_' look but just nodded, sitting down on the end of the bed he'd slept on, reaching down for his shoes. "So I'm heading for the morgue. Need to check out this latest attack. Wanna come with?"

She glanced back at the laptop that was still open, her eyes reading over some of the article. "Are we going to be playing doctor today?" She asked with a grin.

"Nah. Detective." He smiled at her as he stood, going to find his bag. He sat back down once he had it, starting to go through a stack of fake I.D's "I could always use a partner. And well...someone's snoring still."

She laughed but nodded her head. The last thing Lucy wanted to do was spend her day sitting around a hotel room waiting for something to happen. She _did _want to help them after all. "Yeah sure. Let me find some clothes to wear. Give me twenty minutes?"

"Sure. I can rig up a quick ID for you in no time."

It didn't take too long for Lucy to make herself look somewhat presentable, considering she had yet to shower that day. But she knew Sam wanted to get a move on and they needed to get things taken care of. He'd whipped up an ID card for her that nearly looked real, unless someone was going to take the time to really take a look at it. They scribbled a quick note for Dean before leaving, heading towards downtown San Francisco.

Sam was nearly bouncing out of the county coroner's office after he finished inside. Lucy had waited in the car, not really trusting herself in a morgue for one but she also didn't want to get them thrown out. It was probably better in the end for her to just wait anyway. "What? You look like you could explode. Is it something we can take care of?"

He reached out to take the car keys from her, sliding into the driver's seat. Sam waited until she was inside and buckled in before he started the car. "It's definitely looking like it's right up our alley. You should've seen this guy, ripped open right in the middle of his chest. Looks like he got eaten by some kind of dog.."

"Like a black dog?"

"No. Get this: his heart is missing."

Lucy frowned, trying to go over everything in her head that she knew of. There weren't many things that ripped people's hearts out. She turned in the seat towards him as he drove back towards the hotel. "You don't think it's a werewolf...do you?"

"Starting to think that way. Man, Dean is going to freak out." He shook his head, "I barely remember the last time we ran into one. I mean, we were just kids."

"I don't ever remember my dad talking about coming up against one. Wow.." She sat back in the seat, looking out the window as the streets passed them by.

"I figured we'd grab Dean, maybe go see if we could talk to the witness. The lawyer's assistant or something."

She nodded, "Sounds good."

* * *

She was really amused at the way Dean was acting. They'd come into the room to find him awake and watching something on the tv. It was some show she'd seen before but couldn't even begin to remember the name of. But he turned it off once the two of them were fully in the room. Sam started in on what he'd found out at the morgue and she'd just sat back, watching as Dean positively buzzed around the room, grabbing a gun and starting to clean it for what had to be the millionth time. "This lawyer, he the first heart free corpse in town?" Dean asked as he sat on one of the beds.

Sam grabbed something to drink, sitting down in a chair. "First man. Over the past year several women have gone missing, their bodies all washed up later in the bay but their bodies were too deteriorated to draw firm conclusions."

"But no hearts?"

"No hearts." Sam said with a shake of his head. "They were all hookers working Hunter's Point. Cops are trying to keep things under wrap but they're looking for a serial killer."

Dean glanced over at him from where he was sitting, his hand stopping its movement. "And the lunar cycle?"

"Mmhm. Yeah, month after month all the murders happened the week leading up to the full moon."

"Which is this week right?" Lucy asked just for clarification.

"Hence the lawyer." Sam said with a nod.

Dean grinned and looked near giddy before exclaiming, "Awesome!" He stood up, moving to the other bed to pick up a smaller box.

"Dean, could you be a bigger geek about this?" Sam shook his head, looking exasperated.

Lucy was stifling her laughter as she watched the exchange between the two. She'd never seen Dean this excited over anything ever, at least from what she could remember.

"I'm sorry man but what about a human by day, a freak animal killing machine by moonlight don't you understand? Werewolves are bad _ass_. We haven't seen one since we were kids." He was grinning as he opened the box, revealing numerous bullets inside.

Sam leaned forward on the chair he was sitting in, "Okay sparky. And you know what, after we kill it we can go to Disneyland!"

That was Lucy's undoing right there and she had to cover her face as she started laughing. Dean was geeking out over a werewolf. It was like he was a kid in a candy store.

"Know what the best part about it is? We already know how to bring these suckers down." Dean said as he held up a silver bullet, "One of these bad boys right to the heart. So what's our next move?"

"Talk to the girl that found the body." Sam said as he tipped the bottle back, taking a drink.

Lucy shook her head as she stood from where she'd been sitting. Dean had sat back down, starting to clean the gun again. "I've never seen you so excited over something in my life. You act like you just won the lottery."

"Dude, you just don't understand." Dean shook his head as he put the gun down on the bed, glancing over at her. "This is huge."

Her and Sam just shared a look but each moved to grab their things so they could go talk to the girl that had found the lawyer's body.


	17. Chapter 17

_AN: Again, spoilers for_ _217 "Heart".  
_

* * *

  
The neighborhood they turned into was something right out of a book. Big, elegantly painted houses and apartment buildings surrounded by big trees that lined the street. It seemed peaceful and really just screamed "domestic bliss". It really was the kind of neighborhood that Lucy could see herself living in one day. It was pretty much perfect, even if she did annoy the boys by "oohing and aahing" as they drove down the street. With the Impala parked in front of the building, the three of them walked up to the front and inside. They had to walk up the stairs to reach the apartment and Dean knocked once they found Madison's apartment. She was beginning to think that no one was home, seeing as they waited for what felt like forever before they heard someone on the other side.

Madison was one of those women that a person just instantly liked. She was taller than Lucy (which wasn't hard to do) with dark hair and kind eyes. But even as she opened the door, staring at the three of them inquisitively, Lucy could see the fear behind them. Obviously she'd been through something traumatic and it would probably be there for a long time. She looked slightly wary of letting them inside but let them enter once Sam turned on the charm, saying they were detectives.

She led them through the front hallway towards what had to be the living room, saying over her shoulder. "I don't understand. I already gave my statement."

Dean and Lucy shared a look that clearly said 'uh oh' but let Sam take the lead. "Right," He said. "Yeah well, we just need to verify a few things."

The group entered the living room to find another man sitting on the couch. He stood when they all entered. "This is my neighbor Glen. Glen, this is Detective-"

"Landis," Dean said before looking at Sam and clapping him on the shoulder. "And this is Detective's Dante and Castillo."

Lucy turned enough to give him a pointed look but didn't say anything. "Well guess I'll leave you to it," Glen said as he walked around the couch.

Madison smiled at him as he walked past her. "Okay, well thanks for the casserole."

The man nodded and looked a bit strangely at the three 'detectives' before brushing past them. Dean turned, watching the man in the Mission Church shirt before quipping, "oh how thoughtful."

"Call if you need anything." Glen said to Madison before disappearing down the hallway.

Madison sighed softly before saying, "he's sweet. He came over to check on me. Um...have a seat."

They all moved to sit down, with Lucy somehow ending up in between Sam and Dean with Madison on the other side of the table. Sam was the first to start asking questions, not really interrogating her in any way. But more to make her comfortable with three complete strangers looking at her. "You uh...must be pretty shaken up. You were Nate Mulligan's assistant, right?"

"For two years, yeah." Madison said as she leaned forward, putting her hands on the table.

"So you knew all about him?" Lucy asked.

The other woman smiled at her before nodding. "Probably knew more about him than he did. Nate was...he was nice."

"But?" Sam said.

"Nothing really. He had a few scotches and he'd start hitting on anyone in a five mile radius. You know the type."

Lucy nearly snorted and Sam just nodded his head. "Yeah. I do, actually."

Dean shot them both a glare but then turned on the charming smile when Madison looked at him. Lucy half wanted to punch Dean, just for acting like a pompous jerk. "So uh...did he have any enemies?"

"What do you mean?" Madison asked. "It sure looked like an animal attack."

"Yeah, yeah. We're just covering all the bases. Anyone that might've had a beef with him; former client, an ex..." Dean trailed off as Madison started to look highly uncomfortable.

Sam noticed the look and leaned towards her some across the table. "What?"

"This is embarrassing," She said with a shake of her head. "But my ex-boyfriend, Kurt-"

"Kurt have a last name?" Dean asked cutting her off.

"Mueller. After we broke up, he went kind of nuts. He's kind of been stalking me. He got it in his head that something was going on between Nate and I. He showed up at my office."

So maybe this Kurt guy was just who they were looking for. It sure sounded like it, at least to Lucy. She asked, "What happened?"

"Kurt got into it with Nate, threw a punch before security grabbed him. I was lucky to keep my job."

"When was the last time you saw Kurt?" Dean asked.

"A few nights ago. Actually, the night Nate died. We were all grabbing drinks at this bar and Kurt showed up."

"And?"

"Nothing. It was like he was watching me. Then he was gone. To tell you the truth, he scares me."

Dean and Sam shared a look over the top of Lucy's head, but it was one she caught just the same.

The three of them left Madison's apartment not too long after that. Dean glanced up at Sam, "so what'd you think?"

Sam let out a sigh as they walked down the steps. "Stalker ex-boyfriend? Hates the boss and he was there that night."

"Think he's our dog faced boy?" He asked.

"Well, it's a theory."

Dean walked around the driver's side of the car. "Well we've had worse."

"What'd you say we pay Kurt a visit?"

Both men stopped when Lucy piped up and stared at her for a moment. Dean shook his head first, followed quickly by Sam. "No way. We're taking you back to the hotel."

She gaped at him for a moment and then narrowed her eyes. "And why's that?"

Sam chuckled softly and got into the passenger side of the car hurriedly. Dean let out a sigh, "because it could potentially be dangerous?"

"So? You said you'd let me help, you know. Me sitting in the room isn't helping."

He pointed to the backseat and even went as far as to open the door. "Get in. You're not getting hurt."

"I'm not going to get hurt anyway. Dean, c'mon..." She didn't make a move to get in the car. If he was going to be difficult about all of this then she would just act difficult back. She could shoot a gun quicker than him (although she might not tell that to his face). He was just too stubborn to let a woman help them.

"Look." He leaned over the door towards her. "Let us check this out first. We'll come back by and get you then. I don't want you getting hurt."

Lucy growled under her breath and the two of them stared each other down for a good minute but finally, she got into the car. With a huff she slammed the door closed and proceeded to glare at the back of Dean's head as he got inside and pulled the car away from the curb.

* * *

Dean and Sam were able to find out where Kurt lived pretty easily and after leaving a not-too-happy Lucy behind at the hotel, headed over in that direction. Dean did the lock picking while Sam kept an eye out and it only took a few seconds for them to get the door open and get inside. "Lucy is not happy with you at all," Sam said quietly.

Dean snorted softly, glancing back at the taller man. _That _was the understatement of the century. She refused to talk to him and barely said three words to Sam before they had left. He knew she wanted to help but the fact was he didn't want them to come face to face with Kurt-the-werewolf and her end up being the thing's next meal. They needed to check this out first before bringing her in on it, even if she could help them out. "Yeah. I know."

They crept inside the dark apartment carefully, looking around for anything that might pop out of the darkness. Dean headed for the kitchen while Sam was momentarily distracted by a few pictures on the guy's mantle. Dean found the fridge and opened it, bending down to look inside. Both men were unaware that they were being watched from the shadows. "Anything?" Sam asked as he flipped through a stray magazine.

"Nah, nothing but leftovers and a six pack." He said as he let it close.

Sam was still looking through the magazines when they both paused, hearing a scratching sound coming from the balcony. Dean walked over, opening the door and stepped outside. It was quiet, just the sounds of the city below and he was about to go back inside when he noticed what looked to be claw marks in the concrete. "Hey Sam, c'mere."

Sam came out a second later and leaned over the edge of the balcony with him. "Check it out..." They both looked down and continued to look down as the claw marks spanned the length of the building. They ducked back inside the apartment, looking through a few other things that were lying about.

Both froze again when they heard a gunshot from outside before darting out onto the balcony again. They couldn't see anything from up there and quickly headed out of the apartment and to the alley behind the building. They could see something behind a dumpster and approached carefully and that was where they came upon the mangled body of a police officer. Sam dialed 911 while Dean took a closer look, getting close enough to tell that it had been the same type of attack that'd befallen Nate.

"If Kurt's still out here, we need to check on Madison." Sam said as he tucked his phone back into his pocket.

He nodded as he straightened up as sirens could already be heard in the distance. "Yeah. Call Lucy too, tell her to be ready. We'll swing by, grab her and go over to Madison's."

* * *

She was nearly bored out of her mind while the guy's had gone off to Kurt's apartment. She'd watched TV, although there was nothing interesting on that could keep her attention for longer than a few seconds. She'd opened up the laptop and searched around the Internet some but it was just the same old thing. Since she was alone she took the opportunity to research a bit on werewolves. She knew the general idea on them, her dad had mentioned them a few times growing up but other than that and what she'd seen in movies that was about it. But things on the 'net were glorified from the entertainment industry so it was hard to know what was real and what was fake. She had a hard time going through the sites that they'd bookmarked too, not knowing really where to look.

Her phone started ringing right when she was about to just leave the room and find something to do on her own. Scrambling off the bed, she grabbed it from the table. "Yeah?

"Hey, it's Sam. Can you be ready in maybe five minutes?"

"Sure. What's going on?"

"Uh...well, we're pretty damn sure Kurt's the werewolf. So be waiting out front, we're going to go check on Madison."

Grabbing her stuff, she made sure she had her room key before heading out into the hallway. "I'll be out there."

* * *

She only had to wait what felt like a few seconds before she heard the rumble of the car. It barely came to a stop before she was in the backseat pulling the door closed. "So what happened over there?"

Sam turned to face her better, rubbing a hand over his face. "Well, we went over there and found the apartment empty. No one inside or anything. Then we heard something outside, then a shot. Turns out a cop was attacked, found him out in the alley behind the guy's apartment."

She raised an eyebrow before saying, "And no heart?"

"Well the body was kind of bloody and uh...gross so yeah, that was our take on it," Dean said as he looked at her in the rearview mirror.

She made a face but didn't say anything else as the car wove its way through the streets. It only took a few minutes for them to reach Madison's apartment and to park outside next to the curb like they had earlier that day. Dean had his hand on her lower back as the three of them walked up the stairs and knocked on her door. "Still mad at me?" He mumbled quietly.

"Maybe a little," She said as she looked up at him. "As long as you let me come with you from here on out, we'll be good."

He let out a sigh. None of them knew what was around the next corner but he nodded his head anyway. "Fine."

All three turned when the door across the hall opened and Glen stepped out asking, "What's going on?"

"Police business Glen." Dean said with a smile.

Lucy rolled her eyes as she faced the door. The guy seemed nice and all but how nosey did one person have to be? Of course Glen just screamed 'hi I have a crush on my hot neighbor!' so maybe that was why he was practically joining them at the door to get inside. But Lucy jumped, slightly startled when Dean's hand rested on her lower back again. She might've been slightly distracted after that, even after Madison opened the door and asked why they were there. He gave her a slight push as Sam went inside first and the two of them followed after.


	18. Chapter 18

_AN: Again, Spoilers 217 "Heart". :)  
_

* * *

"Has Kurt been here?" Sam asked once they were all crowded into the kitchen. Madison had started a pot of coffee since it was late (or early, depending on how you looked at it). Lucy had declined the coffee, knowing she didn't need to be bouncing off the walls anymore than she did normally. Madison just smiled at her as she went to fill up each of the guys' mugs. 

"Not exactly," She said as she filled Sam's with the dark liquid.

"What exactly does 'not exactly' mean?" Dean asked as she moved towards him.

"Well, he was outside last night. Just looking, looking at me." She looked between the three of them as they all shared a look. "Has he done something?"

"We're not really sure," Sam said before Dean interrupted him.

"It's probably nothing but we just don't want to take any chances. In fact, one of us should probably stay here with you. Just in case he stops by. Where's he work?"

Sam and Lucy were both staring at him. Lucy narrowed her eyes some; she knew exactly what Dean was doing. _Men._ Madison shrugged a shoulder, "he owns an auto body shop."

"You mind getting us the address?"

"Sure. Be right back." She put down the coffee pot and left the kitchen.

Sam turned to Dean. "Alright, I'll stay. You and Lucy go find Kurt."

"Forget that. You go find the creepy ex; I'll hang with the hot chick."

"Hey!" Lucy punched him in the arm with a slight glare, "there's still a female in the room. Can you stop being a macho jerk for five seconds?"

Dean had winced when she hit him, it _had _hurt but he wasn't about to admit it. He scowled some. "I'm not being a jerk."

"Yeah. Why do you always get to hang with the girls?" Sam asked suddenly.

He grinned, "Because I'm older."

Lucy groaned at that and had to wonder how many times he'd used that excuse to get his way. Probably a lot, if she knew him well enough like she thought she did. But she'd be willing to guess John didn't let him get away with too much. "Dean, you're such a pig sometimes."

He looked at her again with a raised eyebrow. "I am not. You're going back to the hotel if you keep up."

"Okay who died and made you the parent?"

"Okay, okay, let's settle this Dean. Like we used to." Sam turned to put down his coffee mug. He turned back to Dean and held out his hands.

Lucy groaned again and wondered a little bit if they'd completely lost their minds. She stood off to the side and watched in bemusement as they played rock, paper, scissors. It was probably a game she hadn't played since she was at least 7 or 8 and here were two grown men playing it just to see who would stay with Madison. Dean grumbled as he lost, twice, and finally Lucy grabbed a hold of his sleeve. She nearly dragged him from the apartment as they got the address from Madison, promising to check in later.

"You're _so_ dense sometimes Dean." She said it as the two of them made their way out to the car. Lucy had the piece of paper in hand with an address scrawled on it in perfect cursive handwriting.

He looked over at her and raised an eyebrow, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. He grinned some as she bumped into his shoulder, looking up at him wide-eyed. "How am I dense?"

"Your brother has a crush on her!" She scowled some as she rubbed her arm where it'd run into his. "That's why he wanted to stay with her."

"Yeah...but she was hot." He shrugged and started walking again, unlocking the door. "You comin' or what?"

Lucy rolled her eyes; men's logic was a little weird sometimes. But she just nodded and hurried to get into the car before he just left her standing there. "You should really learn to not use scissors all the time," She said as she pulled her seatbelt on.

He gave a short laugh as he pulled away from the curb. "Maybe I lost on purpose, just so I could hang with you."

"Mmhmm." She smiled over at him. "Men. I swear."

"What? Can't live with us, can't live without us?"

"Yeah yeah, whatever."

* * *

Lucy covered a yawn as they waited in the parked car for the body shop to open. The sun had risen a few hours ago and by looking at her watch, she knew it would be about starting time soon. But now she was really regretting not taking Madison up on the coffee offer. Dean cast a glance her way and caught her yawning again. "You're not going to fall asleep on me, are you?" 

"No. Just tired." She shook her head and sat up, trying to stretch as much as possible inside the cramped car. "Sorry. I promise I won't like...fall over in exhaustion or something."

"I know you won't." He watched as a few guys in coveralls and jeans approached the shop, one of them unlocking the door. "And looks like the first shift has started."

"I wonder if Kurt will show. I mean, that could be him but what if it's not?"

"Dunno." Dean looked over at her. "So I was thinking, you might have an easier time getting information from them."

"Because I'm a female?"

"Pretty much. And you're hot." He shrugged as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

She could feel her face heat up and really thought about punching him again. But that was probably not the right answer for anything. Instead she just nodded and mumbled a "thanks" before she climbed out of the car. He laughed softly, keeping an eye on her as she made her way towards the body shop. A customer had rolled in with an old Toyota Corolla that looked like it was on its last leg. A guy got out of the car just as Lucy walked past him. It was obvious he was checking her out and Dean growled under his breath. He pushed the door open after a moment and hurried across the parking lot to catch up with her. She nearly shrieked when an arm swung its way around her shoulders and instinct told her to elbow whoever it was. She looked up to see Dean and raised an eyebrow, "what're you doing?"

He grinned, looking past her at the Corolla guy and giving him a stern look. "You didn't wait for me, baby. I had to get the keys."

"Baby?" She let him open the door and lead her inside before she looked up at him again. "Did you just call me baby?"

"Hey just go with it, some dude was undressing you with his eyes." He said it lowly so no one else could hear before smiling. "And I don't call just anyone _baby_."

She gave a laugh as they reached the counter and leaned over it some to try to get one of the mechanics attention.

* * *

Dean grinned as the two of them walked out of the body shop, pulling his phone from his jacket. It rang once before his brother answered. Lucy hurried to meet his stride, he was practically running to the car. "Let me guess, you're sitting on her couch like a stiff trying to think of something to say," Dean was saying as she finally caught up with him,. 

"Yeah he hasn't been at work all week. But because I'm good-OW. Shit, Lucy _fine._" He shot her a glare before sighing, "Because we're really, really good we got a line on where he might be." He shot her a glare as she elbowed his side but all he got in answer was a sweet and innocent smile from her.

They got into the car as Dean was still talking, grinning into the phone. "So what's she wearin'?"

Lucy let out a groan before looking at him. "You've got a female in the car, can you not act like you're thirteen and just found a Playboy magazine for the first time?"

He laughed as Sam hung up on him and looked at the phone. "Man...He's got it so bad, it's hilarious." He turned off the phone before moving to put it into his pocket. "So you ready?"

"If you can stop being such a macho jerk."

"Oh I'm just teasing him. It's fun to do sometimes." He shrugged a shoulder as he started the car, pulling out of the parking lot. "Let's go see if we can find this guy, I am ready for this to be over with already."

* * *

As Lucy walked in with Dean, she immediately felt like all eyes were on her. Well, they probably were because she was willing to guess women didn't exactly come to this place as patrons. Unless there was heavy drinking involved. Dean was nearly bouncing in his shoes like a kid getting to go to Disneyworld for the first time. "Amateur night? Oh hell no, Dean!" She grabbed the sleeve of his jacket and tugged as hard as she could to keep him from running off and leaving her. She pointed to the sign and looked him. "You better not have any ideas of getting me up there.." 

He laughed, shaking his head. "Not unless you want to. But I bet you'd make a hell of a lot of money."

"Don't make me hit you."

A guy wearing what looked to be a pretty expensive suit walked by, grinning as he looked Lucy up and down. "You'd definitely make a lot of money sweetheart."

Dean bristled at that and just shot the guy a glare before he turned, looking around for any sign of Kurt. She just sighed but let him lead her into the club further. She wasn't sure if she'd ever stepped foot in a strip club before, although there was a first time for everything she supposed. She had guy friends who'd gone to strip clubs before but it wasn't anything she ever thought she needed to experience for herself. Of course, this Kurt guy was the type that hung out at strip clubs at all hours of the night. It just seemed like..._Kurt_. She let him pull her up to the stage and groaned as two girls sashayed their way onto the stage wearing little less than a bikini. "So, you owe me big time."

He grinned up at one of the girls, a blonde as she made her way to a pole right smack in the middle of the stage where they were sitting. "Owe you for what? I told you, you could wait in the car."

"Oh really? I could've? You'd be in here all damn night!"

"I might be anyway."

Well, he could be right there. He reached into his pocket and produced a dollar bill, although Lucy couldn't tell what denomination. She couldn't help but roll her eyes as the blonde started her dance. "Oh good lord..." She muttered and rubbed her forehead but decided it wasn't _so_ bad. Dean gave her a grin before nudging her in the shoulder, "Not too bad right?"

"Yeah yeah." She looked around the club, trying to keep in mind that they were there for a reason. They needed to find Kurt and trail him for awhile. If he was the werewolf, then everything would be back to normal in a few hours. Well, about as normal as they were going to get.

Dean laughed suddenly, "I can't believe you're in a strip club with me right now. Bobby would kill me if he knew."

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye but his attention wasn't even on her. "My dad would come back to haunt your ass if he knew." She grinned at the thought, it would be pretty amusing to see her dad come threaten Dean for taking his 'baby' to a strip club. She suddenly nudged him with her elbow. "Dean."

"Huh?" He was still enamored with the girl on stage. "Now _she_ has got some talent."

"Okay quit staring, and look."

He finally blinked and tore his eyes from the girl on stage. "What?"

She nodded with her head across the bar. "Kurt."

Dean looked to where she was looking and smiled. They had found their mark finally. "Great. We'll keep an eye on him for a little while. See where he goes from here."

"Hopefully home, I can't take anymore strip clubs or auto body shops."

Shifting enough, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket. He dialed a number before pressing it to his ear, holding up a bill towards the girl once her song ended. "I found him," He said once whoever (she guessed Sam) answered. Another song had started and he was back to staring.

"Oh yeah, my eyes are _glued_." Lucy started laughing beside him but didn't say anything when he mock-glared at her. "Look Sammy, I gotta let you go. Don't wanna miss anything."

She just shook her head as he hung up the phone, holding up another dollar bill towards the girl. Sliding down from her seat, Lucy put a hand on his shoulder. "Give me the keys? I'm going to go wait in the car."

"You sure?" He moved enough to grab the keys and slid them into her hand. "I can come out with you if you want."

"You're having fun." She smiled, motioning to the girl who was doing some acrobatic move on the pole. "I'll be fine, maybe I can grab a nap before Kurt decides to make a move."

"Alright. I'll be out in a little while."

Lucy nodded and left the club and went out to the parking lot. It was quiet as she walked to the car, a nice change of pace from the loud thumping bass of the music inside. Sighing, she slid into the passenger seat of the car and locked the doors. A nap was sounding pretty good at the moment.

* * *

A Couple of Hours Later:

Lucy let out a yawn as the two of them huddled down in the alley below Kurt's apartment. Dean had come back to the car to find her asleep inside and it took knocking quite a few times before she woke up enough to answer it. They followed Kurt back to his apartment and parked a little ways away before setting up camp in the alley. He was playing some loud music that was echoing down the concrete walls. It was causing Lucy to bounce from foot to foot. She was cold. And hungry. And really still tired even though the nap had helped. Dean looked pretty wiped too but he would never admit it, he'd just keep going and pushing himself until he collapsed somewhere from exhaustion. "So how much money did you spend on girls tonight?" She asked quietly, glancing up at the light coming from the apartment's back door.

He chuckled as he checked his gun for what had to be the millionth time. "Not telling. I didn't spend that much either."

She sighed but did the same thing with her own gun she'd been handed. "Yeah right. You still owe me."

"I'll buy you dinner one night next week."

She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted from a crash above. They turned to see that the light had gone out and the back door looked busted. "What the.." She muttered before the two of them took off running.

Dean kicked in the front door once they reached it and held his gun ready to fire. Lucy stood behind him with her own gun drawn as they made their way inside. Her heart was pounding about a hundred miles an hour but felt like it was beating in time with the song blaring from Kurt's speakers. She moved to his side as they went through the apartment, not finding anything in the dark until they reached the living room. They both paused when they found Kurt lying open-chested on the floor and _something_ was practically eating him. Her eyes widened as the thing turned towards them but she didn't have much time to think as it lunged at the both of them. Dean slammed back against the far wall, his gun clattering to the floor while Lucy crashed through a wooden side table and landed hard on the floor. Her head felt like it was spinning and she groaned, reaching up to touch the back of her head. It felt warm and wet. She tried to push herself up some but dizziness took over and she collapsed back down. She was able to see the thing go for Dean first and could see him swing something at her. But after that, she just blacked out on the floor.

* * *

Her eyes opened and she was sure she was dreaming. Or dead. Because since when did Dean look like an angel complete with a damn halo around his head? Blinking a couple of times, she realized he was just super close in her face, a worried look on his own. His eyes widened when he saw her moving and he sat back some as she groaned and attempted to sit up. He reached out to steady her, all he needed was her to fall back and hit her head. Again. "What the hell happened?" One of his arms went around her and helped to pull her up even though her legs felt like jello.

He moved around her in a complete circle to check for any serious wounds. "Madison's the werewolf," He said as he pushed up the back of her shirt despite her mild protests. "Damn Luce, you broke the damn table. Scratched yourself up pretty bad, how's your head?"

"Was that a way of telling me I'm fat? My head's pounding-OW!" She scowled and turned around to face him, reaching up to feel the back of her head. "Damnit that _hurt_."

He actually looked apologetic and frowned before reaching into his pocket for his cell phone. "We're gonna go get you checked out."

"But what about.." Her eyes landed on the body of Kurt and she was suddenly glad she hadn't eaten much the night before. Reaching out as she wobbled on her feet, she grabbed a hold of Dean's shoulder. "Gross."

"You okay? I can take you to a hospital? Probably should anyway." He seemed to be talking to himself as his arm wound its way around her waist and helped her to sit down on the couch. "Don't move."

"Nope, not goin' anywhere." She tried not to look at the body on the floor, in fact looking anywhere but at the floor was a good thing at the moment. Her head hurt but she didn't think she had a concussion or anything. She was probably just banged up like him but she had a feeling it just came with the territory.

"Yeah now that I'm conscious. The werewolf knocked me out," Dean said into the phone as he ran his free hand over the back of his head. "Sam, it's Madison. Awesome job of keeping an eye on her." He looked over at Lucy and raised an eyebrow before mouthing _'you okay?'_

She just nodded her head before smiling, albeit weakly. "Well she wasn't an hour ago. Check her right arm, below her elbow. I nicked her with a silver knife." He hung up the phone a moment later and came back over to her. "Okay, we need to get out of here and get cleaned up. Get you checked out."

"Dean I'm fine." She stood up from the couch, thankful that this time she didn't feel like she was on some sick amusement park ride. At least her head had quit spinning. The last thing she wanted was for him to think she couldn't help or handle a job. She could. "I don't need to get checked out. My head's fine, I swear."

He stared at her hard for a moment, as if that was going to make her change her mind. But finally he nodded, "c'mon then. Let's get out of here. I'll call the cops on the way over to Madison's."

"What're you going to tell them?"

"Anonymous tip." He shrugged as he looked around to make sure they were leaving anything behind. After that was done, him and Lucy left the building as quickly and as quietly as possible.

* * *

The two of them reached Madison's apartment with Dean knocking on the door. They could hear the lock turning and the deadbolt being unlocked before the door opened to reveal Sam. He let them inside without saying anything and locked the door behind them. Lucy frowned when she saw Madison tied to a chair and looked back at Sam. "What, you think she's going to change in the day time?" 

"Not taking any chances." He said before looking at the two of them. "We need to talk."

Dean and Lucy followed him into the kitchen. "She says she has no idea what I'm talking about." Sam said as he leaned back against the counter.

"Well she's got to be lying," Dean said.

"Or else she doesn't know she's changing." Lucy stepped in between them and looked at Dean. "From what limited research I've done on werewolves, there have been reports of people changing but not remembering when the monster takes over. They just kind of black out." She shrugged a shoulder as she turned to look at Sam. "It could be a long shot but it could explain it. She just doesn't remember."

"So she can't control it? I mean, she offed her ex and her boss..."

"Maybe the animal side of her brain saw those guys as threats." Sam sighed loudly. "I don't know."

Dean didn't look or sound too impressed. "And the cop too? C'mon man."

"I'm not putting a bullet through some girls' chest that has no idea what's happening," He said finally.

"Sam, she's a monster and you're feeling sorry for?" He shook his head.

"Maybe I understand her. Look, there might be another way we can get the job done without having to waste her."

Lucy raised an eyebrow, she didn't think she knew of any way to stop a werewolf or 'change' them back. "What're you thinking?" She asked after a long, tense moment of silence.

"Dad's journal." Sam had his back to them both, only turning once he found the page in their dad's journal he was looking for. "Might have a cure if you kill the werewolf that bit you, severing the blood tie."

It was a good idea in theory but there was that word _might._ "Might? Sam...it might not work too." She said gently, only because she didn't want him pissed off at her. "It could go either way."

"It's worth a shot."

"Yeah but we don't know where to even start looking," Dean said with a shake of his head. "It could've happened years ago, how are we going to find the thing that bit her?"

Sam closed the journal before he put it down. "No. I don't think it did." And he left the kitchen.

Dean groaned under his breath before rubbing at his face. "You okay?" He asked her after another moment.

"Fine. _You _okay?"

He gave her a weak, tired smile. "I'm ready for a damn vacation."

"On a beach somewhere with a couple of pina colada's? Yes please." She smiled at him before going to follow Sam.

* * *

They found out that Madison had been mugged a month before and had been bitten on the back of her neck. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where she'd been at when she was attacked: Hunter's Point. It was an obvious werewolf feeding ground. Dean left Lucy with Sam to watch over her, just in case she turned, while he went out to Hunter's Point. He had to admit, even though it was reluctant admittance, but it was worth a shot. They'd saved a lot of people so far, maybe they could save her too.

Lucy made herself scarce while Sam and Madison talked. She almost felt like she was intruding on something private, although it really wasn't. Letting out a sigh, she closed off the kitchen so they would have a little more privacy and made herself at home on the counter. Swinging her legs back and forth, she hoped that this would work. It was painfully obvious that Sam had himself a little crush. She knew that he hadn't really liked anyone since Jess. Although she knew vague details about a girl named Sarah in upstate New York. Maybe if they saved this girl then this would be the whole 'start of a normal life' thing she'd been hoping for. It would be nice.

As the sun went down and the moon rose high in the sky, tensions grew in the apartment. Madison had agreed to be kept tied up but Lucy and Sam were both still armed. One of them kept an eye on the clock while the other kept an eye on the full moon outside of her window. They hadn't heard from Dean yet, but she wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not. Lucy walked in front of Madison just as she changed again and broke free from the binds on the chair. She let out a yelp as she was knocked backwards onto the floor and for the second time in as many nights, she was flat on her back. Sam turned around, drawing his gun as Madison turned towards him. "Sam shoot her!" Lucy yelled as she pushed herself up and reached for the gun that had slid across the floor. Her fingers wound their way around the handle and she finally stood up. Sam held his gun on her and spotted the closet, eventually able to get her inside. Lucy hurried to help him close the door and the two of them held it shut as Madison fought and kicked and clawed at it behind them. Lucy closed her eyes tightly against the sounds from inside. "You didn't shoot her.."

He shook his head, grunting as the door buckled some as she threw herself at it from the inside. "I couldn't," He whispered loud enough to be heard over the noise.


	19. Chapter 19

_AN: still spoilers for "Heart" from season 2. (and thanks to all those who are reading and reviewing!  
_

* * *

  
She was ready for a shower. Preferably a shower and a cheeseburger. Maybe some fries too if she was just going to pig out. The three of them were camped out in the car, staking out Madison's place to make sure she didn't change that night. Dean had killed the werewolf down by Hunter's Point, who had turned out to be Glen in a sad twist of fate. "He had no idea what was even going on," Dean said as he glanced at her in the rearview mirror.

"So do you think it worked?" She asked as she covered up a yawn. A nap too, she definitely needed a nap.

"Hope so. Guess we'll see."

She closed her eyes to try to catch a cat nap while the guys teased and picked on each other. Dean was bound and determined to get Sam to admit that he liked Madison. Even if she probably did think he was completely psycho, Lucy would be willing to guess that Madison liked him back as well. She jumped when she heard a knock at the passenger side window and opened her eyes to see Madison peering in at them. "You know for a stake-out, your car's a bit conspicuous..."

Lucy laughed at that, the Impala did stick out. A lot. Sam rolled down the window as she asked, "What're you all still doing here?"

"Honestly? We're pretty sure you're not going to turn tonight but we need to be a hundred percent. So...we're lurking." Dean said a little sheepishly.

"Well if we're going to wait it out, we might as well do it together." Madison said as she stepped back from the car.

Lucy raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything as the three of them climbed out of the car with Dean pausing long enough to lock the doors before they walked inside with Madison.

It was a long night. A long night full of nothing besides sitting around watching the clock and waiting. Lucy had napped on the couch next to Dean, eventually ending up with her head against his shoulder. He laughed softly, sharing a look with Sam but hadn't said much once she settled against him. He knew she was pretty exhausted, hell they all were. But he was used to staying up for days on end, catching a few minutes here and there or hours if they were lucky enough to find some rundown motel. He tried not to move too much while she was pressed up against him but he kept an eye on the gun with the silver bullets loaded in it, just in case. If he needed to, he could reach over and grab it. But so far, all Madison had done was stare out the window and talk to Sam here and there.

Eventually, Dean nudged Lucy. He had to smile as he watched her wake up, blinking sleepily up at him as she pulled away. It was hard not to miss the warmth she'd provided him, but he pushed the thought away. Maybe it'd just been too damn long since he'd gotten laid. She turned red when she realized she'd fallen asleep against him, reaching up to fix her hair that'd gotten disheveled in her sleep. "Sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep on you. Totally unintentional."

He shook his head. "No worries. Although I'm not used to making women fall asleep."

"Oh whatever." She rolled her eyes as she stretched her arms over her head. "So where's Sam and Maddy?"

"In the kitchen. I think." He slouched down on the couch, stretching his legs out in front of him. "She hasn't turned yet and there's about two hours before sun-up. I'm cautiously optimistic that maybe this worked. And I am so taking a nap later."

She did the same and stretching her legs in front of her, laughing some at just how much longer his were in comparison. "Remember, you owe me dinner one of these days since I was dragged into a strip club."

"Yeah, I know. Just let me know when and we'll go to dinner." He grinned before turning his head to look at her. "But dude, you should've really entered that amateur contest."

She swatted at him with a laugh. "Shut up!"

"You would've made a lot of money!"

Lucy just shook her head and settled back against the couch. She turned her head to look out the window where the sky was just beginning to show slight traces of pink. "Nope, sorry. And I want a real dinner. Not anything from a fast food establishment."

He nodded with a smile. "Okay. I can do that. It's a date."

"Date? I thought Dean Winchester didn't date?"

He didn't answer but just grinned as he checked his gun for the millionth time that night.

* * *

Lucy rolled her eyes and tried her best not to laugh at Dean as she practically dragged him out of Madison's apartment. The night had passed easily and so far, it all looked good for Madison. But by the looks and the sexual tension that could be cut with a knife between Sam and Madison; that was their cue to leave. Lucy grabbed a hold of Dean's jacket and pulled him out the door as he just grinned stupidly. "Come on, come on. They're about to jump each other and you were acting like you were all about watching!"

"Well I do have to say it's about damn time," He said as he let her pull him down the stairs and out into the cool morning air.

"Get to the car," She said with a snort. "I'm hungry and need a shower."

"In that order?"

"Possibly."

They got into the car and he started the car, glancing out the window at the building. "You know, I like her." He said as he pulled the car out onto the street.

"Me too. I just hope this worked, for her sake."

Dean grew quiet as he wove the car through the morning traffic. They grabbed a quick breakfast from McDonald's before heading on to the hotel. Their feet dragged a bit as they went into the room but they both managed to eat before anything else. Dean kicked off his boots and laid up on one of the beds, his hands behind his head. "Go ahead and take your shower. I'm gonna sleep for a bit." And just to prove his point, he yawned.

She laughed and cleaned up their trash before starting to dig through her bag for a change of clothes. "Want me to wake you when I get done?"

"Yeah, that'll be fine." His eyes were closed and his words were starting to slow down as his body finally began to relax after the past couple of days.

Lucy watched him for a moment; smiling at how peaceful he looked when he slept. It wasn't often he completely relaxed for anything and she wasn't sure he did it a lot even when he was asleep. She gathered up her clothes and headed into the bathroom, not wanting to disturb him more than she had to. Plus, the thought of having a hot shower was almost too good to pass up.

The water was hot when she finally got into the small shower but it felt good to her tired muscles and bones. She stood under the spray for a good minute before moving to grab the hotel issued shampoo to wash her hair. She didn't have much against the state of California but she was ready to get out of it and move on already. She was a little worried that she hadn't had any more of the weird visions her and Sam seemed to share. But maybe that was a good thing? She did want to find the demon though, that was the end goal for Lucy. Then maybe things would go back to normal. Well, semi-normal.

After her shower, she dried off the best she could before wrapping a towel around herself. She really wanted to take the time to fix her hair and maybe put some make-up on, and then she would at least feel a little normal. But of course, make-up was the one thing she didn't bring with her into the bathroom. She pulled on her clothes and headed out of the bathroom with her hair still wet. Her bag was still lying on what had been her bed, while Dean was still on the other bed. He was breathing deeply and she knew she should wake him so he could get cleaned up but he needed the rest. She didn't quite have the heart to wake him.

Lucy went back into the bathroom with a smaller bag in her hand, sitting it on the sink in front of the mirror. It was still slightly fogged up from her shower so she started digging through the bag that held her make-up. It was so cliché and girly probably but she missed getting to put on eyeliner and eye shadow every day. She'd gone without while they were on the road, it just seemed like too much of a hassle. Plus they were always in such a hurry to leave and to get places. But sometimes, it was nice to feel like an actual _woman_. She looked up at the mirror and jumped when she saw Dean standing behind her, looking bleary eyed and sleepy. "Jesus...quit sneaking up on people like that!" She put a hand over her heart to try to get it to quit pounding. How a guy over six feet could be completely silent she would never know.

He smiled some as he leaned against the doorframe, shrugging a shoulder. "Sorry. But you were supposed to wake me."

"You looked like you could use the sleep. I figured I'd finish up in here and then go wake you."

"A likely story." He moved to stand behind her, peering over her shoulder and into the make-up bag. "How much of that stuff do you actually use?"

"I don't know! I just grabbed like...most of it before we left Texas."

He reached over her shoulder and picked up a stick that slightly resembled a long, skinny crayon to him. Furrowing his brow, he looked at her in the mirror. "Eyeliner, right?"

"How'd you know?"

"I have gone out with women who were make-up. I know it seems all weird and shit." He shrugged as he dropped it back into the bag. "It just seems like a lot of stuff...why cover up your whole face with it?"

"I don't know. I haven't really done my hair or make-up lately. It's nice to feel somewhat girly." She smiled, holding up a tube of lipstick. "Hey can we experiment?"

"Uh...let me think real quick. No." He grinned at her before resting his chin against her shoulder. "Man, I think I could sleep for a hundred years and still be tired."

She laughed as she went about putting on some of her make-up with him leaning against her. His eyes had closed again and if she didn't know better, she'd think he was sleeping standing up. "Maybe you should let Sam or I drive after we leave. Then you sleep in the car."

"Mmhm. Maybe. We'll see. Although I don't trust my girl to anyone."

"Your...girl is your car?" She shook her head slightly, "I will never understand guys' obsession with cars."

He laughed softly, still leaning against her. "I've had the Impala since I was 16. It's like another family member, one of the only constant things in my life." A frown crossed his face but he kept his eyes closed. "When I found out the thing had been demolished after dad, I knew I had to get it back. I had to fix it."

She watched him carefully but didn't say anything. It wasn't everyday he just randomly opened up to her or anyone else. Dean let out a sigh before he started talking again, "I thought if I could fix the car, I could fix everything."

She smiled weakly at him even though his eyes were still closed and reached up, sliding her fingers through his short hair. "You fixed it at least. And you and Sam are close, that's what matters. You and Sam."

Dean's eyes finally opened and he blinked a little sleepily at her before smiling back. "I know. I just gotta figure out how to keep Sam and you from going all dark side on me."

She laughed as she dropped her hand from his hair and looked down into the make-up bag. "Well don't worry; I'll try not to go all dark side on you. You may have to deal with me being all grumpy sometimes but that's not so bad. And Sam's not going to turn evil either."

"Better not," He said in a mumble.

She zipped up the bag before turning around, surprised just how close the two of them were. He hadn't moved an inch and was just staring at Lucy, making her feel slightly uncomfortable. Raising an eyebrow, she smiled again. "What?"

"Nothin'," He answered. He smiled at her before he stepped back motioning towards the shower. "I think I may need to waste some water. You hungry or anything?"

"Nah. I think I may go catch a nap." Lucy ran a hand through her hair to try to straighten some of it out. She grabbed her stuff before slipping out of the bathroom. "Wake me when you get out?"

"Sure Luce."

* * *

When Dean was finished with his shower, he wrapped a towel around his waist before leaving the bathroom. It'd been quiet from what he could hear so he figured that she was inside asleep. A check of his cell phone saw no calls from Sam, which made him grin a little. _'About time,'_ He thought before glancing over at the bed. Lucy was curled up on one side of the bed, her hair spread out behind her head. Her legs were drawn up near her chest and one arm was flung over the other side. Smiling a little softer, he grabbed a clean change of clothes from his own bag. He left her alone for the moment to go change. It was slightly weird to be sharing a room with a girl. Well, a woman really. He found himself trying to be cleaner around Lucy, tried to make sure they didn't stay in the most absolute worst hotels even if those were usually the cheapest. It wasn't that they went for comfort when it came to hotels and motels but now he wanted to make sure things were just a little easier with her around.

Once he was changed and somewhat cleaner than he had been when he went into the shower, he turned off the light in the bathroom and went back into the main room. Lucy was awake now, sitting cross-legged on the bed with the remote in her hand. She brightened up when she saw him, "hey! Did you waste all the water?"

He flopped down on the bed next to her, stretching out next to her. "Nah not quite. I felt like it but then I thought that might be rude to whoever is staying here too. What're we watching?"

"Not porn, that's for sure." She sighed and slouched down on the bed more. "I don't know, I was looking for a movie or something."

He nodded, lifting his head long enough to look at the small TV screen. They were probably lucky the damn thing was in color and got more than two channels. Laying his head back, Dean looked up at the ceiling. It wasn't often they had downtime to do nothing, it was weird. He was used to just being on the go all the time. "I can't believe we have nothing to do until Sammy's done...well, with whatever he's doing."

She laughed as she turned to look at him. "I know, right? I kind of don't know what to do with myself. Like, should we go out and do something or just lay here and try to sleep?"

Raising an arm Dean grinned up at her before saying, "I vote for sleep!"

"You would." She settled on some local station that was getting slightly fuzzy reception and set the remote down in between them. "You ever think about going to college and all that? And yes, I know that was the world's most random question."

He chuckled softly as he rolled onto his side to face her, leaning up on his arm. "Random, yes. But I don't know. I wasn't that bad of a student in school, you know. I was pretty decent in high school. But with moving around and hunting with my dad and taking care of Sammy...it just never seemed like college was up there on the list."

"But Sam went..."

"Yeah. Against my dad's wishes. I mean, him and dad butted heads all the damn time. I was always breaking up their arguments. I think they were more alike than they could see but I wasn't about to ever tell them that. But dad thought that we should stay, we should help him find the damn demon that killed mom. That was always the end goal, everything in between was just filler." He let out a sigh as he laid his head back against the pillow. "I think I always knew I was supposed to do this. Sam was supposed to do the school thing, that's all _him_."

"You didn't see him for two years though? I mean, before everything happened there?"

"I did, he just didn't know it. Dad would too, although he wouldn't tell me where he was going. But I'd stop by if we happened to be near the area long enough, just to make sure he was okay. He fit in. Which is something I never felt like I did."

Lucy frowned at that as she rolled onto her side to face him better. "You fit in when you were in Oklahoma!"

"Yeah better than most places. Other places, I never quite fit in. Sam had an easier time but that's just how he's always been. So I checked on him at Stanford a few times, he seemed to just fit in like everywhere else. He looked happy." He smiled some, "I'd kinda like for him to be that happy again."

"He will be." It was a definitive answer coming from her and even though she didn't think she could quite see into the future, she thought that it would be true.

"What about you, you thought about going back to school?"

"I...don't know." She shrugged a shoulder. "I've thought about it but I don't know if I could go back. Maybe one day though."

Dean was about to open his mouth to ask her something else when he was interrupted by pounding on the door. He frowned and tried to think of where his gun was as he crawled off the bed. "Stay there." He said as he forgot about grabbing a gun or knife and went to unlock the door. Lucy sat up and scrambled to the end of the bed, digging through her bag for any kind of weapon just in case. Dean unlocked the door and swung it open to find Sam standing there. The only thing he said was, "She turned."

"What?"

"I couldn't grab her in time." He said breathlessly.

"Okay. We'll find her." Dean turned to go back into the room, grabbing his jacket. Lucy was already on her feet, slipping on her shoes before he could get his jacket on all the way.

* * *

She rubbed her hands over her face, hoping that maybe if she closed her eyes for a good long moment and hope them then this would all be some horrible dream she woke up from. But when she opened them, she still found herself in the kitchen of Madison's apartment. Letting out a breath, Lucy leaned back against the counter and crossed her arms in front of them. Things had gone from bad to worse and it didn't look like there was any way to fix it. She couldn't fix it and Dean couldn't fix it and unfortunately, neither could Sam. No one knew of any way to change a werewolf, Bobby had even said that cutting the blood line wouldn't really work. There was only one solution and it would mean that someone in the room would be putting a bullet through Madison.

Dean came into the kitchen behind Sam and leaned against the counter next to her, looking down at the linoleum floor for a moment. Madison was still in the other room but Lucy had been able to hear her asking Sam to do it. Dean looked up at his brother, "Sam I'm sorry."

He just shook his head and suddenly looked on the verge of tears. "No, no you're right. She's right."

"I got this one, I'll do it." Dean ducked his head as he looked over the gun in his hand.

"But she asked _me _to."

"You don't have to." He was trying to do this in the least harmful way possible, not wanting to torture his brother anymore than he had to. But Sam was stubborn. And really, Sam needed to do it. Even if deep down Dean didn't want him too.

Sam nodded and held out his hand. "Yeah. I do."

He hesitated before handing the gun over to his brother, glancing backwards at her who was looking out the kitchen window. "Wait here." Sam said it softly that the two of them could barely hear it but both of their heads nodded just a little.

Lucy turned around in time to see Sam leave the room. She was surprised when one of Dean's arms wrapped around her shoulder and pulled her towards him. She closed her eyes tightly, in anticipation or something else she didn't know but she was trying to ready herself. She didn't want to hear it, she didn't want to know what that shot would mean. She turned suddenly and buried her face about as close to his chest as she could get. When it happened, she tried to ignore that she felt him flinch just as much as she did. It wasn't like Dean hadn't shot a gun before or heard a shot, he'd probably heard thousands of gunshots over the years. But this one was too close and too close for comfort. His fingers were digging into her shoulder as he squeezed her but he didn't move other than the flinch.

The gunshot seemed to echo throughout the apartment for a long time. It was probably only a few seconds but Lucy thought that it would be weeks before she got the sound out of her head. He eventually loosened his grip on her but wouldn't meet her eyes as they pulled away from each other. Sam appeared in the doorway but refused to look at either of them. Lucy rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand, it was hard to believe that had just happened.

* * *

No one said a word as they drove back to the hotel. Nor did anyone say a word as they went into their room and immediately started packing their things. Dean's jaw stayed clenched as he checked around the room to make sure they weren't leaving anything behind. Sam kept his head down and they just pretended not to hear the occasional sniffle coming from him. Once everything was packed up, they headed out to the car, threw their stuff inside and hit the road. The more distance they put between them and San Francisco the better.

Lucy glanced into the backseat once they were really rolling on the highway. Sam was lying down as best he could in the backseat and looked like he was sleeping but she was willing to guess that he wasn't really asleep. He'd said a few words when asked direct questions but other than that he'd been too quiet. She let out a sigh and turned back around to look out the window. The lights from the city were fading quickly, sending the car further into darkness.

Dean glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as she shifted to lean against the window. He wanted to say something but didn't know what he could say. Nothing would change the fact that his little brother had to shoot a person he'd really liked. They'd saved a lot of people but there were also quite a number they hadn't been able to save. And that was one tough pill to swallow.


	20. Chapter 20

_AN: Sorry for the delay! _ _Slight spoilers for episode 216- Folsum Prison Blues (but not until the end of the chapter!)  
_

* * *

She bolted straight up in bed, gasping for air and heart pounding in her chest. She looked around, not really sure where she was at first. Then Lucy remembered San Francisco and that they were now somewhere near Los Angeles in a hotel right off the interstate. In fact, she could hear semi-trucks gearing down outside once her heart quieted down. With a groan, she pushed the covers on the bed back and stood on shaky legs. This whole vision thing was weird and scary all at the same time, and to be honest she was getting sick of it. Flashes filled her mind but they moved at near light speed, so much so that it was too hard to tell what was going on. She saw a knife in her hand and then...

Blinking a couple of time, she shook her head. No, that was just ridiculous. While her first vision had come true, she was sure this was just some weird, bad nightmare. Running a hand through her hair, she glanced at the clock. It was nearing six a.m. and she was willing to guess that the guys were in the next room over sound asleep. They'd stumbled exhausted into the hotel lobby and she'd insisted on getting her own room. They'd all be crammed into one room for the past few days; there was no reason to be crammed into another one for a couple of more days if the hotel had the room. Sighing, Lucy grabbed the remote off the nightstand next to the bed and flipped on the TV. She figured if she wasn't going to get anymore sleep then she could at least catch up on current events.

In the room next to Lucy's, Dean was lying on his back staring up at the ceiling. He'd been awake for some time but was just too exhausted to get out of bed to shower or anything. Turning his head, he glanced at his brother who was sprawled out on his stomach sound asleep. He'd listened to Sam toss and turn for hours, listened to him pace around the room but sometime he'd finally passed out. Dean didn't want to risk waking him up unless he had to. They all needed to decompress after San Francisco and while Dean was usually the one that wanted to work, to find cases, he thought they could spend a few days. Sam needed the downtime. They all did.

* * *

The knock on her door came a few hours later but Lucy had managed to get showered and dressed so at least she was decent. Opening the door, she wasn't too surprised to see Dean on the other side. He looked about as tired as she was, dark circles under his eyes. He gave her a small smile, "Hey."

"Hey...want to come in?" She asked as she stepped back to make room for him.

He nodded and stepped into the room, watching as she closed the door. "So Sam's been asleep all morning. I mean, he was awake but he hasn't said a word and I just...can't hang out in there right now. Do you want to go grab something to eat maybe?"

"Sure." She moved around him to go find her shoes. "So he hasn't said _anything_? Do you think it's wise to leave him alone?"

Dean shrugged as he put his hands into his jacket pockets. "I think he needs to be alone right now. Plus we won't be gone long." He smiled at her, "by the way it's cold. You might want to wear a coat."

"So much for going to the beach then, huh?"

He laughed softly. "Not unless you want to get frost bite. And if you go in the water, I'm not going in after you."

She pulled on a jacket after she slipped her shoes on. "Fine no going in the water. Not this time anyway. But there will come a time when it's not cold and rainy and damnit we're going to the beach then."

* * *

Dean could tell just from the way she was nearly bouncing out of the passenger side of the car that she wanted to go to the beach. The weather wasn't conducive to going to the beach for the sake of going in the water, but they could at least do a little bit of walking along the beach in Santa Monica. He drove out that way after they grabbed something to eat, not telling her where they were going. Finally though, Lucy caught on when she saw a sign. "I thought it was too cold?"

He grinned at her before shrugging a shoulder. "Yeah well, we need a little fun. I think we've deserved it."

"But it's kinda nasty outside?"

"Yeah I know but I want to see this beach too damnit. We'll just have to try not to catch pneumonia." He shifted in the seat to grab his phone from his pocket, glancing at the display. "Sam must still be asleep."

"What time did he go to bed?"

"Late..." Dean shrugged again. "I heard him up and down pretty much all night. He tossed and turned, paced around the room...everything."

"He'll be okay." Lucy sat back in her seat, glancing out the window. "I mean, it may take some time but...he'll be okay."

They found access to a public beach and parked, one of the few cars in the lot. But it was still early in the day, during the week even. Plus she had to remember that it was pretty cool out. Lucy had her jacket held tightly around her body as the two of them walked in silence down to the sand. A few people dotted the beach but most were too far away. Lucy closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath, smelling the salt that hung heavy in the air almost like a blanket. It was cleansing and she instantly felt at ease. With a smile, she started to head down towards the water's edge. Dean followed slowly behind her, content to just watch her. She'd said in the car about how she'd always liked the beach although she'd only been a few times as a kid. She'd been more often after leaving Oklahoma and traveling with the few close friends she had. They would take trips during Spring Break or during the summer months.

He could admit to maybe be a tiny bit jealous. It was probably because he'd never had an actual vacation. There were times as a kid they'd stay near a lake in a small, crowded, dusty cabin out in the middle of nowhere during the summer. But it would always just be for a couple of days while their dad mapped out his next hunt or recovered from a previous hunt. Him and Sam would get to goof off and act like the kids they were. They would stay in the water for as long as possible during the day, just for a change of pace. But as much as they goofed off, there was always some underlying job or reason why they were there. They were never quite able to escape from what had happened to their family. Dean sometimes wished he'd gotten a chance to be a "normal" kid who didn't know the difference between a .45 and a 9 millimeter. Or the type of kid who didn't know there really _were_ monsters under the bed.

Lucy looked back at him, a bright smile on her face. "Well are you just gonna stand there and stare Winchester?"

He laughed, shaking his head as vague childhood memories disappeared from his mind as he joined her down near the water's edge. "I was just thinking." He said over the noise of the waves.

"About what?" She asked, moving closer to him as a cold breeze blew in from the ocean. That was a good thing about being shorter than both of the Winchester's: they made great protection from cold weather.

Dean noticed her shivering despite her jacket and pulled her up close to him, hanging an arm around her shoulders. "About when me and Sam were kids. Never really had time for vacations or anything like that. I do remember spending a few times up at a cabin, somewhere near Michigan I think. Sam was maybe six the first time we went. There was a lake and we stayed in the water from noon until night."

She smiled up at him as the two of them started to walk down the beach some. "Sounds like you two had fun."

"We didn't have to worry about anything. That was the real fun part. Even my dad had some fun."

Lucy shifted to wrap an arm around his waist as they walked, pressing herself up against him more. "That sounds nice Dean..."

"Yeah there are a few good memories in there mixed with a long line of bad ones. This isn't so bad either, you know. Although I wouldn't complain if it were about ninety degrees and sunny."

She laughed, "So everyone could be half naked?"

"Exactly." He said as he grinned down at her. This was really a nice way to unwind from the past couple of days. There weren't any werewolves trying to tear their heads off or any one on their tails trying to blow them up. It was just the two of them on a nearly deserted stretch of Santa Monica beach. To an outside observer it probably looked like a couple walking down the beach. To them, this was as close to relaxing as either would get.

Lucy let out a sigh, looking out over the dark and choppy water. "I want to live near the beach," She said suddenly. "One day after all of this is over. I want to be normal."

"You're pretty normal now. You just happen to know how to shoot a gun better than a lot of people. And okay, you see more weird things that other people do but you're still normal." He shrugged a shoulder as he held her close with the mental excuse that she provided some extra body heat.

"Well yeah. But do you ever wish things were different?"

"All the time." He smiled a little weakly as he looked out at the water. "There are times when I swear I'm going to wake up and this will have all been a really bad dream. My parents will be alive; Sam will be finishing law school and probably married to Jess or close to it."

"What about you?"

"I don't know. Never really get that far in my thinking."

"Well you know what I think?" Lucy asked him as she turned to face him, both of her arms going around his waist. "I think you don't give yourself enough credit. You didn't when we were younger and you sure as hell don't now. You've managed to hold your family together, Dean. You did it from four years old on and you're still doing it now. You've kept your brother in one piece and I know you two hold each other together. But without you, he'd fall absolutely apart. You work hard Dean, you really do. Give yourself some credit."

He let out a long sigh, his head dropping forward so his chin was nearly on his chest. "I'm so tired though. And I wonder if it's really worth it. Because all our lives, all my life, has been to get the son of a bitch who killed our mom. The one that tore Sam's normal life apart when it killed Jess. And then tore yours up when it killed your parents. But I'm not sure we can, at least not without that damn Colt. And okay, what if we do kill it? What then?"

Lucy shrugged before reaching up, cupping his face with her two (probably freezing) hands and forced him to look up. "After that evil son of a bitch is dead and gone, you're going to go on and keep doing your job. You know it won't end with the yellow-eyed demon. And maybe you'll settle down sometime after that, all that Brady Bunch stuff us adults are supposed to do."

He smiled at that, leaning into her touch some. "When'd you get to be so smart anyway?" He asked softly.

"I dunno. I'm still learning myself."

Dean leaned down without thinking and brushed his lips over hers in a near ghost of a kiss. She was blushing when he pulled back, her hands frozen on his shoulders where they'd moved to. She ducked her head down, reaching up with a hand to shove a piece of hair back that'd blown into her face. Suddenly she was warm all over. Too warm, really. "I...sorry..." He stuttered after a moment. It had been an almost involuntary action. Although truth be told, he'd wanted to do that for quite some time. And now he'd gone and screwed it up.

But Lucy shook her head quickly, looking up at him. "No, don't be. I just wasn't expecting it, that's all."

"You sure?"

She nodded, grabbing a hold of his hand. "Yeah. But we should probably get back? Sam might be wondering where we disappeared off to."

Dean nodded and the two of them started back in the direction they'd come from. She had yet to let go of his hand as their shoes crunched in the sand and Dean liked it. It was really bad that he didn't want to let go.

Right?

* * *

Dean talked to Sam for most of the ride back to their hotel. She was too busy staring out the window as the scenery passed, it was a little sad to be leaving the beach. Part of her just wanted to sit there for the rest of the day...or even the rest of her life. At least there they didn't have to worry about anything besides sand getting into places it didn't need to be in. But now things felt...well, weird. He'd kissed her. He had kissed her. Holy shit he'd _kissed_ her. Suddenly she was back to being the dorky little teenager who was so unsure of herself that she had to be a complete grump to everyone around her. She groaned inwardly and rubbed at her face, what in the world was she going to do?

She looked up when she heard him say her name and turned towards him. "What?"

"I said that we're here. You looked like you were about a million miles away. You okay?"

"Oh yeah, yeah I'm fine. I was just thinking."

He grinned some, "Yeah? What about?"

Lucy was across the front seat in less than a second and very nearly ended up in Dean's lap. His hands landed on her hips to steady her, leaning up to meet her lips in a kiss.

She was the first to pull back from the kiss and sat back about as much as she could manage considering she was stuck in between Dean and the steering column. "Oh...god. I'm so sorry..."

Dean laughed at that, shaking his head. "Why are you sorry for?"

Somehow this whole exchange was familiar, maybe because they'd just had the same conversation maybe an hour before. "I just...shouldn't have done that. I mean, we're just friends and _that_ just makes it all awkward."

He raised an eyebrow at her rambling and leaned in some to see her face better since she'd ducked it down some. "Do you regret what we just did; the whole kissing thing?"

Lucy shook her head, trying her best not to turn bright red under his gaze. What was with her blushing in front of him all the time? This was ridiculous, she was an adult. Not some overly-hormonal teenager. But she had just kissed him and practically jumped him. Oh Lord...

Dean's hands moved up her sides and he leaned in further towards her. "Well I don't regret it either you know. But if you want to go back to the whole 'just friends' thing and forget any of this has happened, then you might want to get off my lap." He said it softly and when Lucy dare to look at him he was smiling. At least he wasn't pissed off or acting weird. No, the acting weird part was all her.

"I should probably get off your lap anyway." She said finally.

Dean laughed but nodded his head. "Especially since we've attracted an audience?"

Lucy let out a shriek and scrambled to put as much distance as she could between her and him. Sure enough, when she looked out the front windshield of the car there was a guy standing there with a grin on his face. "Oh my god..." Lucy muttered as she got out of the car.

Dean followed suit although he was really amused at the whole situation. But even he had to roll his eyes as the guy, probably old enough to be his grandfather, gave him a thumbs up sign as he walked around to catch up to Lucy. She was looking highly embarrassed as he slung an arm around her shoulders. "I'm so sorry." She started as soon as they were out of earshot from the old guy.

"Quit apologizing, okay? I think that's all you've done all day. That guy's probably wondering where the hell a guy like me picked up a girl like you. No big deal. Plus, it was kinda hot seeing you like that." He shrugged with a grin.

She elbowed him but couldn't help the laugh that escaped her. Once they reached Lucy's room, he waited and watched as she unlocked the door. "So um...what now?" she asked, looking back at him once the old, rickety door was opened.

"Well, I'm probably going to go clean up and see if I can drag Sam out of the room..."

"No, I mean with uh...us?" She wrinkled her nose; that sounded _so _ridiculous coming out of her mouth.

But Dean smiled and leaned down, kissing her again. It was a little more than the ghost of a kiss he'd given her back on the beach and a little less than when she'd nearly tackled him in the car. Pulling back, he shrugged a shoulder. "Dunno. Guess we'll see?"

Lucy nodded mutely and watched as he disappeared into the room next door. And after what had to be more than a minute of standing in the doorway, she moved into her own room and let the door close behind her. She felt like she was in a haze. A good kind of a haze but had that all really just happened?

* * *

The two of them tiptoed around each other for the next couple of days flirting here and there. Any look from Dean nearly caused her to turn bright red. She could swear she was never _this_ bad when she was thirteen and obsessed with New Kids on the Block. But then again, when she was thirteen she didn't have Donnie Wahlberg a few feet from her all the time. Dean was having a ball with it though. A lot of it was probably his teenage flirtations coming out. He'd poke a sharp index finger into his side as he'd pass by her just to see her squirm of give him a glare. But she did things right back, even if they did consist mostly of her flirting with guys in front of him. She'd swear it was unintentional though. Damn tease.

But both of them were so caught up in tiptoeing and flirting with each other that they failed to realize they had an audience. Sam.

He'd started catching the looks between the two of them, unaware that they had kissed or anything. Dean hadn't volunteered the information anyway and Sam didn't know to ask. But he'd started to notice how Dean would touch her arm or lower back when they were walking. Or how Lucy would stare at him when he wasn't paying attention. Sam, who was still reeling from the loss of losing someone else, couldn't help but smile and watch as the two of them acted like two thirteen year olds with crushes. But Sam could see it. It was good though, to watch Dean when he got a laugh out of Lucy. His whole face would light up like he'd just done the best thing in the world. It was nice to see his big brother not be so focused on the job all the time.

They were in Los Angeles for nearly a week when Dean got a call. An old war buddy of their dad's worked as an officer at a detention center in Arkansas. Apparently something was haunting the place and had killed a guard a few months before. It was enough for them to head out on a bright, early morning. Lucy was sort of sad to leave, to be honest. For a week she'd felt like a normal human being without a care in the world. Granted, she'd been having more weird nightmares but the fun she'd been having with both Sam and Dean helped push those memories to the back of her mind. She didn't tell the guys, mostly to keep them from freaking out. In another way though, she was glad for the distraction of a job. Hopefully that would clear her mind of Dean since he was way too distracting all on his own. He had the ability to make her inwardly question every moral she'd ever had. He also had the uncanny ability to turn her into a giggling _girl_. But as much as they flirted with one another, they each knew there was a bigger job that had to be done.

* * *

"You're stupid. Absolutely fucking stupid."

Dean grinned at her as her tirade ended. She was awfully cute when she was pissed off. Lucy was standing in front of them in a cramped hotel room, her hands on her hips, glaring at him defiantly. She was definitely pissed off if she was cussing; she only did that when she was really mad about something. He knew she wouldn't understand their plan to get inside the Green River Detention Center. Even Sam had questioned it, numerous times. But Dean thought it was their best shot at getting inside.

"Luce, it's not stupid. We'll get in there, find the thing killing people and be out in no time. Deacon's gonna get us out." He said, watching her carefully. She was most likely mad enough to throw a punch and he knew _that _would hurt.

"You barely know the guy!"

"Yeah well, he knew our dad. And that's the important thing."

She finally dropped her hands to her sides, tired of arguing and trying to get him to change the plan. She shared a look with Sam who was sitting behind them, not looking too happy at the prospect of going to jail. Even if they would be getting out.

"Look, all you gotta do is take the car into the next town over, get a hotel room and wait there. We'll get in touch with you when we need you. But I don't want you anywhere near here when all this goes down. I don't want you getting caught up in the middle."

"And how will you reach me from jail?" She really hated not being in on the job but there was really no way for her to be since she was missing a few parts that would get her into the Green River County Detention Center.

He shrugged, "I'll call you. Or Sam will. Now grab up the stuff, you need to drop us off so we can get started."


	21. Chapter 21

_AN: Again, spoilers for 219-Folsum Prison Blues  
_

* * *

She had a bad feeling about this whole job right from the beginning. From the faking the crime to being thrown in jail to escaping from jail. It just screamed _'hey, this is going to get screwed up somehow!'_ and definitely seemed like a bad idea. There was just no way it was going work, at least not in Lucy's mind. But she'd listened to Dean and had done as she was told, dropping them off a block away from the anthropology museum and then getting the hell out of dodge. They'd decided that she should drive into the next town and hole herself up in a motel. It was only about a twenty minute drive but that twenty minute drive felt like it took absolutely forever. But Lucy tried not to complain as she as she checked into the Three Palms Motel under a fake name with a fake credit card that Sam had made sure to give her. She did want to complain to the lady at the front desk that the hotel was sorely missing palm trees of any kind but the woman was more than slightly cranky. Instead, Lucy just took her key and headed off to find her room.

The room was small, one twin bed shoved into a corner. There was one window that faced the parking lot but she made sure to pull the curtains shut tightly. The room was small but was otherwise clean and would do for the time she'd be staying there. Dropping her back at the foot of the bed, she let out a sigh. It was going to be a long night. Lucy didn't expect to hear from either of them that night, but it didn't stop her from worrying. It might've been nice to hear something but she didn't expect it. That didn't stop her from scouring the news on the small TV in the room as the sun eventually began to rise. She also took the time to check the internet but couldn't find anything.

Of course her cell phone would ring just as she was getting out of the shower in the bathroom that was about the size of the Impala's trunk. Cursing her luck, she darted from the bathroom with the itchy, motel issued towel wrapped around her body. Her hair was wet and dripping onto the worn carpet beneath her feet as she grabbed the phone. She nearly ran back into the bathroom to quit dripping everywhere, finally answering the phone with a breathless, "hello?"

"Lucy? It's Sam."

She wasn't sure whether it was a good thing that he was the one calling her or not. But he sounded okay and well, she had a part to play. "Hey Sam, what's up?"

"Me and Dean, we got arrested last night. We're in the Green River County Detention Center."

She gasped dramatically but rolled her eyes at her reflection in the mirror. They weren't sure whether any of their phone calls would somehow be monitored and didn't want to draw any more attention to Lucy than they had to. The last thing they needed as the cops sniffing around her, especially when she had nothing to do with it. "Oh no! What happened?"

"Breaking and entering. Look, we're okay but bail won't be set. We do have a hearing on Tuesday. But we've got a bigger problem."

She frowned some at that. Did that mean something _really_ was wrong or was he just playing along? "Oh?"

"Henrickson."

It was all he said but it was enough to make her freeze. "What?" She hissed into the phone. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah so uh, we got a public defender working our case. Looks bad." He said softly.

"Oh man. I should...come see you two?"

"Wait until she calls. Her name's Mara Daniels. I gave her your number, said you were a family friend staying in the area. Don't come here until you've heard from her. We're afraid that he may try to get a hold of you, not that you have anything out on you but we don't want to take any chances."

"Okay. Well...both of you be careful, okay?"

He laughed then, "You should see him in here Lucy. He's in his fucking element. I've never seen anything like it. But we'll be fine. Just wait until you talk to her. You know what to say."

"Yeah, yeah of course."

"I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Yeah, talk to you later Sam."

* * *

Most of her afternoon was spent on the internet searching around for everything having to do with Dean, Sam, Milwaukee and St. Louis. On the screen it looked really bad. But she knew what had really happened. Of course no one was going to believe them so it wasn't like they could come out and say it was a shapeshifter. Henrickson had been on the guys' case since Milwaukee so it was probably only a matter of time before he caught up to them but _still_. She just hadn't expected it to be now.

She got a phone call from their lawyer a few hours after Sam had called. She wanted to meet with Lucy as soon as possible to go over some of the case. They agreed to meet at her office, mostly so Lucy wouldn't have to explain what she was doing in a rundown hotel a town over from where the guys had been caught.

She tried to dress up as much as she could, not go too overboard but she didn't want to look like she'd just crawled out of bed either. It probably wasn't too inconspicuous to be driving a 1967 Chevy or to be female and driving it around but other than that, Lucy thought she looked the part. Mara Daniels was waiting for her at the front of the office, an eyebrow raised when she heard the rumble of the engine. A short, dark haired woman got out of the driver's side and glanced up at the building before walking towards it.

Lucy instantly liked Mara and the woman had only just introduced herself. She had no idea what it was but there was something...likeable and trustworthy about her. Of course, Lucy didn't trust her enough to bust out with the whole story but she seemed like she would be a good defender for both Sam and Dean.

"So I'm going to assume that you know about Milwaukee and St. Louis?" Mara started once they were both sitting down.

"Yes, I do."

"Sam said you were a family friend. Have you been in contact recently?"

"Oh yes, yes I've seen them recently." Lucy said with a nod of her head.

"Dean said you two had been in a relationship for six months now?"

She blinked a couple of times; trying to make sure she'd just heard Mara correctly. Dean had said they were dating? She nodded after a moment, realizing she needed to give her an answer. "Oh yes, yes. His brother introduced us actually."

"Good, good. They certainly have a long list against them. I just wanted to meet with you, get a feel for your relationship with the two of them. They definitely need someone who can vouch for them and their actions."

"Henrickson is pushing to get them extradited isn't he?"

Mara seemed surprised that she knew of Henrickson but she nodded her head. "Yes, he wants them extradited as soon as possible. They won't be until after Tuesday, that's when their hearing is."

She sat back in her seat, crossing her arms in front of her. "Is there any way I could see either of them?"

"I can see what I can do about setting up a private visit. But I gotta tell you, Henrickson is going to get wind of you being around and want to talk to you. You don't have anything to do with Milwaukee or St. Louis, right?"

"Nope. I've been in Oklahoma for quite some time, visiting my parents." At least that part wasn't a total lie.

She nodded her head, scribbling a few notes. "Tell you what, let me call over to the jail and see if I can set up a visit. Do you want to stick around?"

"Yeah. Sure, that'd be great." Lucy smiled for the first time all day, "thank you. Really."

Mara was on the phone for quite some time while Lucy busied herself pretending to play with her cell phone. After she hung up, she didn't look too happy but looked across the desk at Lucy. "Well, you're going to have to wait until tomorrow afternoon's visiting hours to see them. Henrickson is making this more difficult than it needs to be."

"Tomorrow afternoon's fine. What time do visiting hours begin?"

"3:00. if you can get there kind of early, you can go ahead and get through the security procedures."

Lucy nodded and stood up from the chair. "That's fine; I'll try to do that then." The two women shook hands before Lucy headed back out to the car to drive back to the hotel.

* * *

The next day couldn't come fast enough. She tried to be patient by checking the Internet, finding just bits and pieces of a news story covering the breaking and entering of the museum. She also tried her best to just sit back and watch TV until it was time for her to drive over to the jail. But doing both of those things only seemed to make the time go by more slowly. She eventually showed up at the jail around 2:30. It was early enough but not so early that she'd be stuck waiting around forever.

Lucy had to check-in and go through a long, drawn out security process. She almost wanted to ask if it was because of who she was seeing or if they went into this much detail with everyone. It seemed like they did everything but a full body search. But it was over soon enough and after another short wait, she was sent back to another room. This one was bigger and filled with seats and little partitions meant to give visitors privacy from one another. A long piece of plate glass separated the visitors from the inmates, but each side had a phone. She smiled some at the guard who'd led her inside but the man stayed stone faced.

She spotted Dean right away, sitting near the end of the line. He smiled at her once he saw her and motioned for her to sit down and pick up the phone. She did so and rolled her eyes. "So I'm your girlfriend now, huh?"

It was quick but it was obvious that he blushed right then, which was a nice change of pace from the last couple of weeks. "I uh...didn't know what else to tell her. It seemed the easiest way to get you in here."

"I know. I mean, I figured as much. How are you? And how's Sam?"

He grinned then, all blinding white teeth and a slight mischievous look in his eye. "Well I'm enjoying myself, I don't know about Sammy."

"Dean. Stick with the case. Have you gotten rid of it?"

"We're running into a bit of a problem there. We think it's an old inmate, Mark Moody." Suddenly Dean was all business, straightening up in his chair as he watched her through the glass. "He was in the old cell block, apparently died of a heart attack. Sam's working on finding out what happened to his body. But I'm pretty sure it's him."

"So you should be done in...What? Another day or so?" She leaned forward, keeping her voice low just in case any prying ears were listening.

He shrugged a shoulder before sighing. "Don't know. Depends on what Sam finds out."

"Okay. Well, you're running out of time you know."

"Henrickson bugging you?"

"Not yet." She shook her head, glancing around the room just out of habit. A couple of more people had been brought in to see some other inmates but were sitting far enough from them. "I'm expecting to leave here and be followed, pretty much. Your public defender said he'd probably get wind of me visiting you all."

He nodded, his eyes narrowing some. "He's a real jerk. Don't let him chew you down."

"Stick to the story, I know Dean." She smiled then. "I'll play up the girlfriend act, like I don't know a thing."

"Good. Just be careful and watch your back."

"Like always."

Sure enough, as Lucy drove back towards the hotel she'd been staying in, she was well aware of a dark car following her. It was far enough back that anyone else wouldn't notice it but she'd been around long enough to tell when she was being followed. Whoever it was wasn't obvious as the other dark car kept driving as she pulled into the parking lot of the motel twenty minutes later. Lucy paid the car no mind as she unlocked the trunk and pulled a duffle bag out of it, closing it as the car drove by again. If they were going to be nosey with her, then she wasn't going to be taking any chances. Any research was going to be done inside the hotel and she was just going to keep low for the time being. Let them make the first move. She didn't know this Henrickson character yet but from the little she'd learned about him, he'd definitely make the first move.


	22. Chapter 22

_AN: Spoilers for 219- Folsum Prison Blues_

* * *

The next morning found her up bright and early. She was dressed and ready before she really had to be but Lucy was just about a bundle of nerves; there would be no relaxing. She went to a diner down the street a ways and was set up in a booth, a cup of hot coffee next to her and the local newspaper in her hand. Her waitress was an older woman with graying hair named Judy, at least that's what Lucy thought she said her name was. But she was distracted. The dark car was back, this time parked a few spots down from where she'd parked the Impala.

It was only a matter of minutes before she was approached by two men. She could hear their footsteps, heavy and uneven on the floor of the diner. She kept her eyes on the paper, not wanting to seem like she was waiting for them. Although she was sure her foot tapping on the floor beneath the table would give away her nervousness. "Lucy Watkins?"

She balked a bit at the name, since it wasn't her true last night. She was going to have to talk to Dean and Sam about this whole fake last name thing because they could at least get creative when telling people a random name. But she dropped the paper onto the table and looked at them, "Yes?"

"Special Agent Victor Henricksen and this is my partner Agent Reed. Could we talk to you for a few minutes?"

She thought for a moment about saying no, just to see what they would do. But she nodded and motioned for them to sit. "Sure. Go right ahead."

The men clamored into the seat across from her, the two adult men much too big to fit in the small booth. But it was slightly amusing to watch them try. Judy approached the table the table, glancing at the two men in black suits and the young woman dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. She gave Lucy a look but smiled some at her before glaring at Henricksen and Reed. "Can I get y'all something to drink?"

"Coffee. Black." Henricksen said.

Reed shook his head but didn't say anything. Lucy nearly laughed; it was as if this Reed guy couldn't say anything whatsoever. Once Judy had disappeared into the back, Lucy busied herself with folding up the newspaper. "So what can I do you for two?"

"We need to talk. About Dean and Sam Winchester." Henricksen folded his hands on top of their table. "It seems that Dean had a little visitor yesterday. Want to tell me about that?"

She raised an eyebrow and waited to answer as Judy appeared with another mug of coffee. Once she was gone to see to another table, Lucy sat back in her seat. "Well he is my boyfriend; of course I'm going to go see him."

"What did you all talk about?"

"Oh I believe that's between him and me." She shrugged a shoulder. "Look, I'm not sure what you're fishing for here but I don't have any information. To me, they're great people-"

"Who killed someone." He said pointedly.

"Maybe, maybe not. I've never seen either of them even raise their voices at anyone or anything."

"So why don't you just tell us what you talked about with him yesterday?" He asked again, smiling at her.

It wasn't a friendly type of smile and she instantly disliked him more than she did before. "Don't you mean, tell _you_?" She said with a sweet smile, shooting a look at Reed. He didn't look too amused, just staring at her blankly.

Henricksen's jaw tightened and he reached out, snapping his fingers right in Lucy's face. She sat back, flinching some before she glared at him. "I need to know what you and Dean talked about."

She raised an eyebrow before putting the innocent act back on. "I don't think I can tell you that, it's personal."

"And this is a very serious case."

"And it was a very serious personal matter we were discussing." She was trying to figure out something to tell him, anything to get him off her back.

"Ms. Watkins, these men are very dangerous. They're accused of grave desecration, mail fraud, murder. What did you two talk about!"

She wanted to roll her eyes at the name again. It sounded really bad coming out of his mouth. She wasn't going to use Watkins as a fake name anymore. But she finally slammed her hands down onto the table, tears starting to prick at the back of her eyes. "I'm pregnant!" She finally exclaimed.

It wasn't in the least true but it did get the reaction she was looking for. Both men looked slightly apologetic for getting her so worked up. It took a lot in her mind to get her to the point of crying but at least it had worked. Judy came hurrying over, putting her arm around Lucy's shoulders as she tried to keep up the crying bit. "Now look at you two, getting her all worked up and in such a delicate condition."

Henricksen and Reed both looked mortified as Lucy continued her crying binge and Judy berated the two men. Lucy wiped at her eyes before saying, "I'm so sorry. It's just such...an emotional time and I'd just told him. He's...he's got so much on his plate. What with being wrongly accused and then this."

Henricksen just nodded, sliding a business card across the table towards her. He was nearly squirming in the booth in order to get away as quickly as possible. "Of course. Here's my card, if there's anything you can think of that may help us just give me a call."

She picked up the card, glancing at it. "Sure, of course. I'm still so sorry."

The men nodded and left not too long after that. Judy looked down at her, patting her shoulder gently. She waited until the two men were out of the diner and back in their dark colored car. "I'd be willing to guess that those tears are fake, huh?"

Lucy bit her lip, sort of afraid that the older woman would take off after the FBI agents to rat her out. "I'm sorry. But my friends, they _are_ innocent. Those two are just looking for any little reason to nail them to the wall. It was the only thing I could think to do."

"You don't have to explain honey." Judy said with a smile, "Those two screamed jackasses the minute they walked in. Now, you just sit here as long as you need to. Let me know if you need anything else."

Lucy could only nod her head, watching as the older woman disappeared off to take care of another table.

But she sat there for a good while, letting Judy and the other waitresses fuss over her. It was nice in a way, the women here were old enough to be grandmothers. It was sort of nice to be fawned over like a loved grandchild. It probably helped that Judy had told her co-workers that Lucy _was_ pregnant. It may have been the biggest lie she'd told to date but hey, she wasn't going to complain too much if it got her free food.

Once she left the diner, it was hard not to burst out laughing right in the middle of the parking lot. It was tempting but she had a feeling she was still being watched somewhere by Henricksen. But as she drove back to the hotel, she didn't see any car following her. It seemed as if they were all going to get out of this after all.

* * *

It was three more days before Lucy got another phone call. But it was Sam, Dean, or Mara. This time it was Deacon. "There's an area around the back of the jail, a loading dock type place. Park back there after dark, that's where the boys will be at." She just nodded, although she was aware that she was on the phone but she'd just been woken up by another damn nightmare.

Weirdly enough, Deacon sounded a lot like her father and that in itself was causing her to be momentarily speechless. "Okay. I'll be there. Thanks Deacon."

The line went dead after they said their goodbyes. It was hard to get out of bed and start packing up her things though. The dream she'd woken up from was the same as it had been for awhile now. The images were foggy at best but it was always the same. She just couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right, that something was about to happen and it was going to be big. She just didn't understand why she was envisioning killing Sam. It was always a knife to the back and twisting. And in her dreams she could feel the knife cut through flesh and muscle, feel the resistance. She could also hear his initial cry of pain and then the last 'scene' was her standing over the body. It was confusing because why would she kill Sam? Unless of course she was the one that turned evil and went after him. Or was it the other way around/ She was never sure. Her dreams never gave her an answer as to why she stabbed him. But it felt real and that was the terrifying part. Lucy had yet to mention it to either one of the guys but Sam hadn't had a vision in awhile. Maybe it was just all in her head.

Lucy was outside of the jail just after dark. It was freezing and the rain had ended just a few minutes before she'd parked the car and turned off the engine. She kept looking at her watch, wondering how long to wait. So many things could go wrong and she had no idea how they'd get a message to her. Or if they even would have a chance to do so. If they got caught escaping it'd only be a matter of time before she was caught as well. But just when she had convinced herself to get in the car and leave, convinced that something bad had happened, Dean and Sam appeared.

"About time." She said as they came towards her.

Sam laughed as he walked to the passenger side of the car. "What, you missed us?"

"Oh _totally._"

"You know, I almost wish I could see Henricksen's face." Dean said with a grin, shrugging off his prison-issued jacket.

"Really?" Sam shook his head. "Because I'd be happy if I never saw him again."

"Me too." Lucy said, tossing Dean the car keys.

"Plus we're not really out of the woods yet, you know?" Sam said as he pulled on his own jacket, thankful for the feel of something familiar. It had been a long, _long_ couple of days.

She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by an alarm going off. They all shared a look before hurrying to get into the car. "By the way Luce, we found out it's not Moody." Sam said, turning in the seat to look at her.

"What? Who is it then?"

Dean let out a sigh, glancing at her in the rearview mirror as he drove faster on the wet roads. Who knew how much time they had to get this all taken care of. "It's a nurse. Nurse Glockner. She's buried in a cemetery out on the edge of town. We gotta salt and burn the corpse."

She just nodded her head, reaching up to take the piece of paper Sam handed to her with directions printed out on it. "Okay then. Let's get this done and over with then."

* * *

It didn't take long to find the cemetery and while she'd been in her fair share of them over the years, it still gave her a creeps to go traipsing through one. Lucy zipped up her jacket to try to keep somewhat warm as Dean handed her a flashlight. He took a shovel while Sam carried the salt and a lighter. "We gotta move it. If Henricksen gets to the lawyer, we're screwed." Sam said as they started their walk.

"I thought she couldn't say anything, you know with the whole lawyer-client privilege thing." Dean glanced back at his brother he trailed behind.

He just shrugged, "Privilege doesn't apply Dean."

"So she'll talk?"

"She has to."

"Oh well that's _great._" Dean shook his head with a low grumble and picked up the pace.

She found herself nearly running to match their stride, almost tripping over a headstone or two along the way. Luckily before she could get lost or left behind, Sam stopped to wait for her, smiling his apologies. She just smiled in return, but it was a tight one. How the hell was she supposed to be nice to someone she was going to kill sometime in the future?

Once they found the grave, the guys started on the digging while Lucy kept an eye out. They weren't sure whether Mara would talk or not. If she did and she told Henricksen, then they were pretty well screwed. Lucy honestly kept thinking that a score of police officers were going to appear in front of her each time she blinked. She was pleasantly surprised the longer they were there that no one had shown up to catch them. But after awhile, Dean hopped up next to her, holding another flashlight on Sam as he finished the last of the digging. Lucy shivered as they stood next to each other, it was starting to drizzle again and the air was cold. She wondered if it really was that cold or if being in a cemetery made it that much more worse. Dean noticed the light from her flashlight was shaking and looked over at her. "You okay? Want my jacket?"

She stared at him momentarily, trying to figure out how in the world he wasn't freezing right along with her. Shaking her head, she motioned towards Sam. "No, I'm okay. You don't need to freeze either. Plus, hopefully he's almost there."

Dean nodded, glancing around at the empty cemetery. He was hoping upon hope that Mara wouldn't squeal on them, at least give them enough time to make a getaway. But he looked around just in case, he didn't want to be snuck up on. "So you get interrogated by him?" He asked after a long stretch of silence.

She smiled then, looking over at him. "Yeah."

Sam glanced up from the digging just after his shovel hit what had to be the top of the coffin. "After you saw Dean?"

"Next day actually. But I'm pretty sure they followed me right after I left from visiting the jail. He tried his best but...I kind of started crying." She shrugged, holding the flashlight inside the grave again.

Both men gave her a strange look and that made her laugh. "What? I just played up the whole girlfriend act. And uh...told him I was pregnant. Then I turned on the tears."

Dean looked slightly horrified while Sam began to laugh. Dean eventually grinned and nudged her in the shoulder. "Good idea. Glad it worked on the jerk."

Sam was still laughing as he hauled himself out of the grave, reaching for the salt. "Let's get this done and get the hell out of here."

* * *

She covered a yawn as they drove down some backroad in the northern part of Arkansas, near the Missouri border. Sam was sound asleep in the backseat while Dean looked tired as well, but was determined to put as much distance between them and Green River County as possible. Glancing over at Lucy when she yawned he asked, "You get any sleep whatsoever?"

She pulled her knees up into the seat and nodded. "Yeah, some. I was just worried and well...I think I got too used to sharing a room with you guys like we did in San Francisco."

Dean laughed softly. "So you did miss us."

Rolling her eyes, she settled back against the seat before answering him. "Maybe."

"You know, Sam kept saying how I fit in there so well. How he thought I liked it. Sad part of it is, part of me did like it. But I'm damn glad to be out of there and back in my car, back on the road. Plus, the food wasn't all _that _great."

She laughed as she looked over at him. It was too dark to really see his face besides the sharp curve of his jaw. "I'm glad you all got out, for the record. But you know Henricksen's going to be going crazy looking for you all."

"I know. And now he'll be looking for you too. Which I hate. I didn't want you to be dragged into all this more than you had to be."

"Oh well. I mean I was kind of prepared for it to be honest."

He nodded and glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "As soon as we stop, I'm going to see about changing the plates. We need to get rid of the credit cards and everything else too. Then we'll go from there. But I know it's only a matter of time before Henricksen's on our asses again."

Lucy snorted after some silence, laughing as she covered her face with her hands. She dropped them after a moment, looking at Dean again. "You know, I really can't believe he felt for the pregnant-girlfriend thing. You should've seen his and his partner's faces. Completely priceless. They looked so scared to have a woman crying in front of them."

He looked at her, grinning. "That was pure genius Luce. Did you know it'd work?"

"No! That's just it. I thought maybe I'd get him to lighten up some but not just leave me completely alone."

Dean chuckled, shaking his head as he looked back at the road that seemed to go on infinitely in front of them. "Well, it _was _a good idea."

* * *

The car came to a stop just as the first bits of sunlight were beginning to appear. They were somewhere in the middle of Missouri, although Dean was much too tired to care what the name of the town was. There was a motel about a half mile from the road they'd been traveling on for the better part of two hours. It seemed the perfect place to stop to get some sleep. Luckily it had vacancy and that was pretty much all that mattered. Sam had woken when the car stopped and got out to take his and Dean's things to their room. Lucy had fallen asleep some time before in the passenger seat, her legs curled up beneath her. Dean had seen the dark circles under her eyes and the way she chewed on her bottom lip nervously when she thought he wasn't looking. It most likely meant that her nightmares were back and she just wasn't telling. So he didn't really have the heart to wake her up. Instead, Dean made his way around to the passenger side door and eased it open. Luckily she barely stirred, even as he bent down and scooped her up in his arms. She didn't seem to weight that much to him but it was still a little awkward carrying her and working to close the car door. Lucy's head found its way to the crook of his neck, causing Dean to become a little distracted by the smell of whatever shampoo she'd last used.

He walked down the narrow corridor, trying to think of how he was going to get her inside her own room. But he was lucky again when Sam stepped out of the room they were sharing just in time to see Dean carrying her. He stifled his own laugh (especially when he got the death glare from his brother) and took the other key from Dean's hand, unlocking the door next to theirs. Dean nodded his thanks and carried her inside. The door closed behind the two of them, engulfing the room in near darkness. Lucy stirred as he laid her down on the bed, mumbling sleepily, "Dean?"

"Yeah, just me. We're at a motel, gonna sleep for a few hours."

She nodded and stretched out on the bed. "Should change clothes."

He laughed softly as he watched her. "You know, most girls just fall out of their clothes around me." But he moved to the foot of the bed, lifting one of her legs up to untie the shoes she wore.

She opened an eye at that before saying, "Pervert."

He laughed again as he dropped her shoe onto the floor and began working on the other. Once it was off, he moved up to the head of the bed, lifting her up some. "You need to get out of this jacket Luce. Lift your arms."

Her arms felt like they were made of lead but she eventually moved enough so he could pull it off completely. "You should stay here." She said after yawning as she lay back down against the pillow.

Dean raised an eyebrow at her. "What?"

"To keep the nightmares away." She sighed softly, "They only seem to happen when I sleep alone. I'm not saying get naked or anything."

He hesitated for a moment before he shrugged out of his leather coat and kicked off his boots. "Damn, I thought I might get lucky. All you want me for is a sleeping buddy." But he was smiling as he climbed up onto the other side of her.

She laughed, a sleepy sort of sound coming out of her mouth and moved to lie down close to him. "Not everyday you get to act like a sleeping buddy. Thanks Dean."

His arm was heavy as he pulled her closer protectively. But his body was finally beginning to give in to the exhaustion. Lucy was already back to sleeping and he mustered enough energy to kiss her forehead gently. "Sweet dreams," He mumbled into the darkness just before sleep overtook him.

* * *

Lucy woke up from the hands clawing at her dreams, nearly knocking Dean in the face with her elbow. But her heart was racing and she was sure it was still there, lurking in the darkness. Dean was startled out of a pretty damn good sleep as she scrambled out from under his arm, her elbow coming dangerously close to his nose. She looked around wildly, almost looking like a caged animal. He reached out to grab her in case she decided to run for some reason. She jumped at the contact, turning around as if ready to fight. He let go of her quickly and held his hands up in front of him, the last thing he wanted her to do was try to punch him. "It's okay, it's just me. You woke up mid-scream."

She immediately felt bad and pretty embarrassed. Lucy didn't think she'd ever woken up _screaming_ before. "I'm...I'm so sorry."

He shook his head quickly. Sam had had some pretty bad nightmares after Jess and the fire at Stanford. He was also pretty sure he'd had some bad ones as a kid after their mother had died. "Don't be sorry. Are you okay?"

Lucy shrugged a shoulder before she pulled her knees up towards her, wrapping her arms around them. "They've been getting worse lately. I thought it just had to do with my parents. Then maybe with the visions that Sam and I both seem to have. But I don't think he's had them lately." She shook her head, realizing she was on the verge of rambling.

One of Dean's arms wrapped its way around her shoulder and he scooted closer to her. Her eyes closed when his chin rest on the top of her head. "Want to tell me what it was about this time? It sounds stupid and cheesy, and we all know I'm not one for chick flick moments, but when I was a kid and would have nightmares my dad would get me to tell what they were about. It seemed to make me feel better."

She sighed but leaned against him a little bit more. He was warm while she felt cold all over. "In them it's always the same, at least here lately. I'm...somewhere with Sam. Something happens and I end up killing him." She turned to face him so she could read him better. Lucy almost expected him to pull back from her and hurry from the room. She wouldn't blame him if he did. His eyes had widened but he just nodded so she continued. "I don't know why or whatever. But I stab him and I swear, I can feel _everything_ when it happens. I don't know what it means thought. I mean, am I going crazy? Does it mean I'm going to turn evil?"

His jaw clenched but he shook his head vehemently. "No. You're not and Sam's not."

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

She chewed on her bottom lip again. "This time, after I did it, something kept reaching for me. I couldn't get away. It kept pulling and pulling and it all just felt so real."

Dean's hands moved to cup her face gently. "You're not going crazy and you're not going to turn evil, okay? These dreams or whatever may be nothing. I wouldn't let you get hurt or Sam get hurt, okay?"

Lucy nodded and opened her mouth to respond but Dean's lips were on hers in a flash. She didn't mind so much since kissing him tended to stop her brain from over working itself. At least right then she didn't have to think too much. It was a surprise that he was kissing like _that_ but, she honestly didn't mind. Threading her fingers through his hair, she pulled him closer, glad to feel the warm weight of him over her. It was much better than the cold hands that had been grabbing at her from inside her dreams.

His hands felt like fire on her skin when they moved under the hem of her shirt. He was still kissing her, smiling against her mouth when her back arched up against him, followed by an involuntary shiver. Dean's mouth blazed a trail across her jaw and to her neck. Lucy was pretty sure this was every girl should die: at the hands (and lips) of Dean Winchester. It certainly wouldn't be a bad way to go.

Lucy's hands moved down his neck to his shirt-covered back. There she could feel the muscles, moving and twitching under his skin. It was then that she decided she needed to feel more of him. Tugging on any piece of clothing she could get to, he eventually got the hint. Sitting up, Dean pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it off the side of the bed. She sat up as he did, watching as tanned skin was revealed to her. Had he always had that scar under his collarbone? She would guess no and had to remember to ask about it later, just to know the story. Instead her fingers began to trace the small map of scars he'd acquired in his 20 some-odd years on earth. She sat up on her knees in front of him, leaning in enough to press a light kiss on the first scar. It wasn't raised, which meant it wasn't recent, but was still pink from where it had healed. She was secretly pleased when he shivered. Funny, she'd have to remember that as well. She wasn't going to be the only one to do the distracting.

His hands did their own exploring, reaching down to pull on the end of her t-shirt. Lucy sat back after a moment, raising her arms over her head to let him pull it off. Dropping that one onto the floor as well, he looked her over quickly. Unlike him, she didn't have random scars or cuts from hunts gone awry. He reveled in the fact that her skin was flawless, smooth and unharmed. No scars that he could see, although there were clothes hiding still more skin to be explored. Lucy was kissing him again, her arms winding their way around his neck as his followed around her waist, pulling her right up against him.

Dean was pretty damn sure he could spend the rest of his life just exploring her. That was scary to him, to want that so suddenly and with someone he'd always considered _just_ a friend. But he didn't let that thought hinder him for too long. Didn't they both deserve a few moments of reprieve from the real world? Her nails dug into his shoulder as he bit at a spot on her neck. When that happened, he was also pretty sure that the answer to that question would be a resounding "yes".


	23. Chapter 23

The first thing she became aware of when she was woke up was that she was sleeping right up against something solid and warm. Almost too warm. Opening her eyes after another moment, Lucy blinked a couple of times and realized she felt a bit like she was hung over. Of course she didn't remember drinking anything the night before (and hadn't) but still, her head felt like it weighed three tons. Stretching her legs some, she was surprised to feel the heavy arm draped over her tighten some, effectively pulling her right up against the solid warm _thing_ again. She raised up on her arm some, turning over and found herself face to face with a still-sleeping Dean. Or at least he looked like he was still sleeping. Lucy flushed suddenly, remembering the night...well, _day_ before. Lying back down, she let out a soft sigh but didn't make a move to get out of the bed. They were going to be confronted with each other soon enough, no use in waking him up if she didn't have to. And okay, she could admit that it was pretty comfortable lying there with him.

She'd nearly drifted off when the arm around her moved again and then the bed shifted as Dean woke up. Glancing back at him, she had to smile at the look on his face. His hair was mussed and there was a distinct mark on the side of his face from the pillow. In effect, he looked like a little boy who'd just woken up from a nap. He saw she was awake and reached up to flatten down his hair; it had the habit of sticking straight up and going every direction whenever he slept. Dean swung his legs over the side of the bed, pulling most of the sheet with him. She let out a yelp when the sheet and blanket threatened to slide off of her and yanked some of it back. "Dean!" She laughed and wrapped the sheet around her upper body.

He gave her a grin and leaned back over, pressing a kiss against the side of her neck. "Sorry." His voice still sounded sleep-filled but as soon as he'd done it, he pulled back and was reaching over to grab his boxers and pulled them up and over his hips.

Lucy laid back on the bed, watching out of the corner of her eye as he disappeared into the bathroom. Covering her face with her hands, she sighed loudly. Honestly? It was a little hard to believe that the two of them had done _that._ She knew of Dean's "reputation", hell he'd been the one to tell her about his reputation. She figured that the two of them were just friends, that was all. Sure they'd kissed a few days ago but that was nothing, right? She guessed this was probably going to complicate things more, but she secretly hoped not. For once, she didn't need complicated.

He came back after a moment and climbed onto the bed, dropping down onto his stomach. Looking over at her he gave her a soft smile. "Uh...hi."

She turned on her side, leaning up on her arm. "Hi to you too."

He shifted enough so he could wrap an arm around her, pulling her closer to him again. Lucy found that she really didn't mind either. Instead she curled up against him, letting out a laugh when his hand started to try to unravel the sheet from around her. "You know, you're hogging the blankets..."

"_You_ know that I'm naked!" She sat up, swatting at his arm as he started to laugh.

"I don't mind if you don't."

"Okay pervert."

"I'm not a pervert!" He narrowed his eyes at her and looked about ready to launch himself at her. But instead he opened his mouth to say something else but unfortunately was interrupted by a knock at the door.

Lucy turned to look at the door as if she stared hard enough she'd be able to see who it was through the door. He got up off the bed though, grabbing his t-shirt off the floor and pulled it on. Unlocking the door, he only opened it a couple of inches but it was enough to see who was on the other side. She was reaching for her clothes that were luckily on her side of the bed, grabbing her shirt and yanking it on. She could hear Sam was on the outside and even though he couldn't see her, Lucy felt like her face was on fire. Sam would just _know_, she was sure of it. After a moment, Dean closed the door and locked it, coming back over to the bed. "Sam's taking the car to go grab something to eat." He sat down next to her.

"So he knows?" She asked, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Knows what?"

"That me and you...?"

He shrugged a shoulder as he reached up, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know. He didn't seem all freaked out that I was in your room or anything. Why?"

Groaning loudly, Lucy flopped back onto the bed so she could stare up at the ceiling. Now things were starting to feel complicated and she didn't like it one bit. "I don't know. I don't want things to get...weird."

"Weird how? It won't get weird if you don't let it." He followed suit, lying on his side so he could see her better. "C'mon Luce, it doesn't have to get _weird_."

"I know, I know." Turning her head to look at him, she smiled before leaning up towards him. "I won't let it then."

"And we'll just see where it all goes?" He asked as he leaned over her more.

Nodding, she turned to face him better, moving in close enough to press her lips against his. "Sounds good to me."

* * *

It'd been a long time since Dean spent nearly a whole day in bed that didn't involve being in a hospital injured somewhere along the way. But it'd been an even longer time since he'd spent nearly a whole day in bed with a girl. But he didn't mind so much because he thought that maybe this was a little bit of payback for all the crap they had to put up with. Maybe this was his version of a vacation. It was a pretty good way to spend a day too. He was watching Lucy as she slept; she'd fallen asleep mid-conversation about a half hour before but he'd just smiled and watched. She was curled up close to him, the sheet wrapped tightly around her, one of her arms thrown out in his direction. She must've been dreaming about something as her eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks and knowing her penchant for nightmares, he hoped at least this time they were good dreams. 

To be honest, he didn't know where any of this with Lucy was going to go. He usually wasn't one for any sort of relationship. The closest he'd come to that had been Cassie and that hadn't ended too well. The last thing he wanted to do was to put himself out there again and get his heart stomped on again. But of course he was much too stubborn to tell anyone that, let alone Lucy. But he'd be lying to himself if he said that he didn't want something with her. He just didn't know how to go about doing that.

With a frown, he laid back on the bed with one hand behind his head. How in the hell was he supposed to _date_ someone when he didn't even have a permanent address?

There wasn't much time to think for an answer as Lucy woke up, lifting herself up on one arm. She sighed and dropped back down against the pillow. "What time is it?"

"Afternoon. Why?" He answered softly, turning to look at her.

"I'm starving." She said mid-yawn.

He laughed, reaching over to brush her hair out of her face. "Want to get dressed and go grab some food?"

"But then we have to get up!" Lucy closed her eyes, leaning into his touch some. "And I really need to shower."

He nodded and crawled out of the bed, holding a hand out towards her. "Then let's go shower."

"I didn't say _we_." She grinned at him and reached out, putting her hand in his. Dean just gave her a look as he tugged her out of the bed, brushing a kiss over her mouth.

"I did, so let's go. Then I owe you a meal."

She let him pull her into the bathroom and shut the door behind the both of them. She knew she was going to be sad when this day ended and they had to go back to the 'real' world. But for now, she was just trying to enjoy the moment. Things between her and Dean could get really complicated and weird but she hoped not. Of course, she didn't know what was going to happen between them but she found herself really not wanting to bring it up. But she tried to shove every negative thought out of her mind. Being in the moment was much better than thinking of the uncertain future.

* * *

The two of them showered and got dressed. Dean disappeared into the room next door for a pair of clean clothes, plus he wanted to make sure Sam had made it back with his car. Lucy sighed as she pulled her dark hair into a ponytail and made sure she had everything before she stepped out of her room. Knocking on the boys' door, it only took a minute for the door to open to reveal Sam on the other side. He gave her a smile and while she halfway expected him to either make a joke about nearly catching his brother and her in bed together or just grin at her knowingly, he didn't do anything. Dean was sitting on the bed that was still made up from when they checked in the day before, tying his boots. He glanced up when she stepped inside and shot her a smile. "Hey, you hungry?" 

"Yeah, actually." Looking to Sam she asked, "Is there any decent place to eat around here?"

"There's a restaurant down the road that was pretty decent. While you all are gone, I'm going to work on getting new plates for the car." Sam motioned towards the open laptop. "Figure we might need to dump the ones we have now, just in case."

"We probably need to head out soon too, just to put a little more distance in between us and the whole state of Arkansas." Dean stood up from the bed, pulling his jacket over his shoulder. "C'mon, I'm starving Luce."

She nodded and waved to Sam as she turned back to the door, opening it as Dean followed her. One of his hands came out to rest on her lower back as they walked out towards the car. It was hard to ignore it even though she was trying. Neither had said a word about what had happened to them but she didn't really want to be the one to bring it up for fear of him laughing at her or thinking she was a complete loon. "So you want to try that restaurant Sam mentioned?" He asked as he pulled his keys out of his jeans pocket.

"Huh? Oh yeah, yeah that's fine with me." She smiled up at him, watching as he walked around to the driver's side of the car before unlocking the doors.

The drive to the small restaurant didn't take too long, which wasn't surprising given how tiny the town seemed to be. It was off the beaten track and probably attracted more truckers than anything. But it was perfect for them to hide out in for a little while. Their drive was quiet though as each was lost in their own thoughts. Lucy still felt tired though and the thought of crawling back into bed once they were done eating was pretty appealing.

They took a booth near the back of the restaurant, looking over the menus while their waitress got their drinks. Lucy thought she had to be just a little older than her, but not by much. And she'd definitely made her interest in Dean known; openly staring at him and giggling at things that weren't even meant to be funny. Dean didn't seem to notice though, instead looking through the menu for something to eat. Lucy found herself being slightly jealous of the waitress and being just the slightest bit offended that she was just openly flirting with him. Which, she thought, was the way a jealous girlfriend would act. And she wasn't a girlfriend and well, she really needed to quit being jealous since it was stupid. Dean wasn't paying her the least bit of attention after all.

Once they'd ordered and had their drinks, Dean folded his hands in front of him on the table. With a grin in Lucy's direction, he shook his head. "I feel like she's staring at me." He said, motioning towards the waitress who was putting their orders in.

Lucy laughed, "She has been staring at you. Flirting too."

"You know, I hadn't really noticed to be honest." He smiled and ducked his head down, his fingers picking at the edge of the red checkered tablecloth in front of him. "Normally I'd be flirting right back."

"How come you're not?" She asked.

"Because you're here." He glanced over at her but looked back down quickly as if she was about to start laughing at him. Shrugging a shoulder he dropped his hands down into his lap. "I don't know, I just don't want to flirt or whatever with anyone when you're right in front of me."

"So if I wasn't here you'd be flirting?"

"Maybe." He answered honestly at least. But then he shook his head as he thought it over. "No, probably not."

She smiled but nodded. "I'm...glad that you don't feel the need to flirt and stare at her."

"I've got you to flirt and stare at anyway."

"True." Leaning across the table some, she lowered her voice. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Well, you just did."

"Smartass."

"I know." Laughing, he nodded his head. "Yeah sure, go ahead."

"What are we like..._doing_?"

Dean sat back on his side of the booth and she could practically see the wheels turning in his head. Finally he shrugged a shoulder, with an almost shy-like smile on his face. "You know, I have no clue. But whatever it is? I like it."

That was something hard for him to admit to, to admit that he had feelings for her. He was mostly admitting it to himself although he knew that she had to have some idea of how he felt about her. Admitting that there was deep running feelings for someone was something that didn't happen every day for Dean. It was much more easy to be a 'love 'em and leave 'em' type of guy. Feelings and emotions made things complicated. And dealing with those feelings and emotions were almost more scary than coming up against the yellow-eyed demon. But Dean didn't mind. A big part of him was ready to find out what else there was in the world and if it involved Lucy, all the better.


	24. Chapter 24

_AN: Spoilers for 220- What Is and What Should Never Be  
_

* * *

Sometimes Dean's taste in music was questionable, but when riding in the car with him Lucy didn't tend to ask any questions. Plus she was too busy trying to read over a map in the dark while Dean drove down some back road near Joliet, Illinois. People had been disappearing on the same 50 mile stretch for some time but out of the three of them, they couldn't figure out what it was. Sam was in their hotel room, reading over books and the Internet but so far nothing had been found.

Dean's phone rang and he reached for it, holding it up to his ear. "Yeah?" Obviously it had to be Sam since he didn't answer the phone like that for everyone. "You think it's for us? I don't see how, we ditched the plates, the credit cards, everything."

Smiling in her direction, he found her with her head down looking over the map again. They'd been driving up and down the same stretch of road for some time now but so far nothing had stuck out. Plus they didn't know what they were looking for. "Hey chicks dig the danger vibe-OW! Lucy that hurt!" He scowled at her.

She grinned when she could hear Sam on the other end laughing and shrugged a shoulder. He'd deserved the punch to his arm, if you asked her. "Whatever, that was totally deserved."

Dean just shook his head. "Okay, a freaking genie? You think these suckers can grant wishes?"

She looked over at him again and raised an eyebrow. Were they hunting a big, blue guy like in Aladdin or something? "A what?" She asked.

He glanced at her, "a djinn."

Nodding, she folded the map halfway and laid it in her lap. Dean hung up the phone after saying something about checking out a place he'd seen a couple miles back. She didn't remember seeing anything besides darkness but if he saw something, then they'd check it out. He was turning the car around in a wide U-turn when she asked, "So what the hell is a djinn?"

"Something like a genie. They're all over the Koran, they feed off of people. Which would make sense given how many people have disappeared. Sam said they hang out in ruins, since they have plenty of places to hide. There's a place back this way that I thought we should check out."

"Okay so if it's a...djinn or whatever you said it was, how do you kill it?" She turned around to toss the map into the backseat.

"Knife dipped in blood. I think."

"Oh. Well that's easy enough I suppose." Lucy said as she sat back in the seat. Of _course, _that was a logical explanation for absolutely everything.

* * *

The two of them were quiet as they entered the warehouse. It was abandoned but definitely seemed to be the place that a djinn would hide in. Lucy was sure her heart was pounding so loud that Dean could hear it but he didn't act like he could. He held a knife in one hand and made sure she stayed with him. But once they reached a doorway where it split off in two different directions, she agreed to go in one while he checked out the other end. "If you don't find anything in ten minutes, meet me back here. If you find it, shoot and I'll hear it."

She rolled her eyes; it felt like he was talking to a child. But she nodded and started off in the opposite direction. Dean's footsteps were quiet as they headed in the other direction and soon all Lucy could hear was her own breathing. She held a flashlight in front of her but it only illuminated about a foot ahead of her, so while it was meant to ease her mind she found that it really didn't. She walked a little ways before she reached another turn. Lucy hesitated and looked behind her, as if something was just going to appear in front of her. But nothing did. So she turned and headed around the corner. She passed by what had to have been an office at one point, complete with an old rickety desk and chair inside. She moved the flashlight in front of her again but stopped when she thought she heard footsteps. Spinning around, she didn't find anything. With a frown, Lucy turned back around and started walking again. She came to another corner at the end of the hallway but never saw the blow coming until it was too late. The flashlight hit the floor as it fell from her hands but it was too far away for Dean to have ever heard the sound.

She woke up, startled and was even more surprised to find herself in a huge, soft bed. Looking around, she squinted into the dark room. Five minutes before she'd been in a warehouse with Dean and now? She was pretty sure she wasn't in a warehouse anymore. Turning in the bed, Lucy was even more surprised to find a strange man in the bed next to her. He was snoring softly and as she leaned in closer to him, she realized she didn't even know the guy. Then Lucy noticed the enormous diamond on her finger.

"What the hell?" She muttered to herself, holding her hand up. Moonlight from the window lit up the ring, making it sparkle and shine as she examined it. She wasn't even going to try to guess how much it was worth. A bigger question was why she was wearing it and why she was in some strange bedroom with a strange man.

Standing from the bed, Lucy looked around the room. It was scarcely decorated; really the only furniture in the room was the bed and a dresser. She looked out the window near the bed and expected to find a bunch of warehouses and other buildings, maybe even the Impala sitting outside but instead she was greeted with a big, empty yard. With a frown, she spun around and walked over to the dresser. A few framed pictures sat on top and she had to lean in to see them better in the dark. In one she could make out herself, dressed in a too-frilly white wedding dress. She was standing next to what had to be the strange guy in the bed, dressed in an immaculate looking tuxedo. So that explained the ring. She was _married_.

Lucy turned her head quickly when she heard a cry coming from somewhere in the house. Instinct told her to find what it was and fix it so she did, leaving the bedroom and finding herself in a hallway. It was lined with other doors so she tried the first one she came to. It looked to be a linen closet. Closing the door, she moved a few more feet to the next one. It was another room, pretty empty. She moved down the hallway, finding other rooms but not where the crying was coming from. Lucy was beginning to wonder how big the damn house was but then noticed that the crying was getting louder, which meant she had to be getting close.

The room at the end of the hallway was the jackpot. It was painted an obtrusive color of pink and Lucy wondered if this weird fantasy version of her had really bad taste in paint. But most everything else in the room was pink too. Pink or white. Definitely not the colors she would've chosen. Although it wasn't like she thought of a nursery all the time. The crib was set up at the far end of the room and inside, Lucy found a squalling bundle wrapped in blankets. So she was married and had a _kid_. She hoped she would've remembered two huge things like that but couldn't worry about it too much as the baby inside the crib kept screaming. Reaching inside, she picked her up and held her against her chest. It felt foreign to hold a baby, and such a small one at that. She couldn't be more than a few months old and was definitely not a happy camper. Lucy didn't know what to do though. Surely this wasn't her kid; surely this was all some weird joke.

Then she remembered the djinn. A flash of blue filled her mind and she was pretty sure she saw herself hanging in the warehouse she'd been in only minutes before. So she'd gotten caught? Did that mean this was all her fantasy? She wasn't for sure and couldn't really think with how loud the baby in her arms was crying. Pacing around the too-large room, she rubbed her hand up and down the baby's back, trying to get her to quiet down. All the while Lucy was trying to figure out what kind of fantasy life this was. Sure she'd always wanted to get married and have kids but she wasn't sure about the strange guy back in the bedroom or the too-big house. She was fairly certain she'd be getting lost in the house if she tried to leave the upstairs. But if this was her fantasy life, did that mean Dean had gotten caught too?

* * *

Dean was in his own version of his fantasy life. He'd woken up next to a woman, in an apartment in Lawrence. He had no recollection of the girl next to him and calling Sam hadn't helped. Sam had acted pretty pissed off that he'd called, accusing him of drunk dialing him. He was freaking out silently before it all clicked. Driving over to his childhood home, he was surprised to find it just as he remembered it as a four year old. His heart had been in his throat as he hurried to the front door, ringing the doorbell and banging on the door. If a stranger opened the door then this was all some weird coincidence. But he'd nearly passed out on the spot when his mom answered the door. He'd always wished that his mom had survived the fire, that he'd gotten to grow up with her around. Part of him had always wondered what sort of people him and Sam would be if their mother had lived. It was hard to believe that she was in front of him though. Granted, she was giving him a look like he was a complete freak but still! She was alive.

His mind was racing with all the facts he found out in the short amount of him he spent with his mother. Then he started wondering what the hell had happened to Lucy. She sure as hell wasn't the girlfriend in the apartment, even though Carmen _was_ pretty hot. But even though his mind was racing with knowledge of his father's death from a stroke and not from a demon, his body was screaming for him to sleep. Exhaustion took over before he could wonder too awful much about Lucy.

* * *

Lucy found that the house she was in really _was_ big enough to get lost in. The baby was still whimpering so she decided to do a little more walking. She carried the baby down the long stair case, noting the white paint on the walls and how immaculate the decorating was. Lucy didn't think she was the one that did any of the decorating, there was just no way. It was all just too perfect for her liking. Shaking her head, it took her wandering into a sitting room and what had to be a living room before she found the kitchen. It was full of stainless steel appliances and more fancy plates and glasses than she'd ever seen before. "Well now this is better than most restaurants kitchens..." She mumbled to herself as the baby shifted and buried her head against Lucy's neck.

"What're you doing up?" A deep sleep-filled voice asked.

It startled Lucy and she tightened her grip on the baby so she didn't completely drop her onto the most likely expensive and _hard_ tile floor. She spun around to find who she guessed to be the sleeping man she found upstairs. The bad thing was Lucy had no idea what the guy's name was. "Uh...she woke up, so I went in to check on her." It had been true, plus Lucy didn't think trying to explain that she woke up in this strange house next to a strange man would go over too well.

He laughed softly and padded his way into the kitchen towards the two of them. "Maria would've gotten her." He said, leaning in enough to brush a kiss across Lucy's forehead.

"Maria?"

"Yeah. You know, the nanny." He shrugged as he stepped back, covering a yawn.

Nanny? Lucy was married, had a kid, lived in a huge house and had a nanny? She blinked a couple of time but nodded her head. "Oh, of course. That makes sense." She guessed it made sense at least.

"C'mon back to bed. Maria can get up with her next time." He yawned again. "I've got to get up early, you know."

She nodded her head and followed him out of the kitchen. Part of her really wanted to explore the rest of the house, just to see what else there was but her body was betraying her by wanting to sleep. The baby was heavy in her arms as she slept soundly, and hopefully would for the rest of the night. "So um...Maria does a lot with the baby, huh?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah. That's why we hired her, remember?"

"Oh yeah. Yeah of course." Lucy smiled at him as he looked back at her. "Maybe I should take care of her more though."

"What for? We've got the help, might as well use it." He shrugged as the three of them reached the top of the stairs. "I'm heading back to bed."

"Okay. I'll go put her down."

He just nodded and disappeared back in the direction of what had to be the master bedroom. Lucy frowned but turned to go find the nursery again. That room was definitely too damn pink for her liking and she just knew that this wasn't her doing. There was just no way. She was all about pink on some things but a whole room that looked liked pepto bismol had been poured on the walls? That was a bit much. She shifted a little awkwardly as she put the sleeping baby down in to the crib. The little girl whimpered and for a strained moment, Lucy thought she would start crying again. But luckily she didn't and stayed asleep. Lucy watched her for another moment. She was a beautiful little girl with dark hair and what looked to be Lucy's color of eyes (although it was hard to tell in the dark). She'd been sure to count ten fingers and ten toes, just to make sure they were all there. As Lucy left the nursery and found her way back to the master bedroom, she wondered what else this fantasy life of hers held. But she also wondered what had become of Sam and Dean.

* * *

Dean was learning that this strange, fantasy life had its pros and cons. A pro was that his mother was alive and living in the house that he and Sam had been meant to grow up in. A con was that his dad was still dead. A pro was that he had a pretty damn hot girlfriend. A con was that it wasn't Lucy. Another pro was that Jessica Moore was still alive and that she and Sam were together. The con was him and Sam? Didn't get along at all. Dean was quickly learning that he and Sam had nothing in common. Sam was practically Mr. Perfect, living in California and finishing up law school. He also seemed really annoyed whenever Dean opened his mouth to say anything. That was the weird thing to Dean. After everything they'd dealt with and done, he and his brother didn't get along in the least. He'd also come to figure out that every person they'd saved hadn't been saved at all, at least not in this new reality. He found article after article at the library of people who he, Sam and his father had saved over the years and learned that they'd all died. The evil hadn't stopped just because Dean got his wish. And that was one hard pill to swallow.

An even harder pill to swallow had been finding out what had become of Lucy. Of course he'd hoped he was going to find something good had happened to her. And it had. He'd found a wedding announcement in the St. Louis newspaper from three years ago. She'd married some well-to-do accountant whose family had too much money to spend. He'd then found a birth announcement of a daughter. Reading over that had pulled a few heart strings, even he could admit that. But then he found the obituary. And his heart sank.

There'd been a nursery fire.

Sitting back in the chair he was in, in the Lawrence library he sucked in a few deep breaths. He was quickly learning that this whole wish thing wasn't all it was cracked up to be. How could it be when pretty much everyone he cared about had bad things happen to them? He hadn't imagined in his wildest dreams that Lucy would be the victim of a nursery fire. Maybe this whole dream life wasn't what he really wanted.

* * *

Lucy was having the same sort of thoughts. A new day had dawned in her "new" life and she was beginning to learn that things aren't always what they seemed. Matt, her husband whose name she finally figured out after finding a stray piece of mail, was an accountant. She really wanted to laugh at the fact she'd married an _accountant_. But he left early in the mornings and Lucy found herself bored. She'd run into the nanny after Matt had left, finding the older woman in the nursery with the baby (whose name she finally found out was Eva). So with the baby taken care of, Lucy decided to go downstairs to fix herself something for breakfast. But all thoughts of fixing herself something were shoved to the back burner because there was a huge kitchen staff. So what, did Matt and her never do anything on their own? It sure seemed like they were waited on hand and foot.

Lucy spent the day hanging around the house, even though it was boring. She found a cell phone that she eventually figured out was hers and started scrolling through the phonebook. She got to 'mom and dad' in the list and froze. Her parents were alive? She pressed 'send' on the phone as she highlighted the number before she could really think about it. Her hands were even shaking as she held the phone against her ear, her heart pounding as she listened to it ring. All she'd wanted was for her parents to be alive and okay, and now it seemed like they were!

She was a little disappointed when it went to what was their answering machine. But she found herself nearly in tears when she heard her dad's voice on the machine message telling her to leave a message and they'd get back to her. It was a voice that had been so far away to a point where she thought she was forgetting what they each sounded like. And now she'd heard her dad's voice; all deep and gravely. He also sounded happy and that was just on the machine. It was so good to hear him sound healthy and happy. It was too good to be true, she was sure. But all the time, she didn't leave a message and hung up the phone.

Then she was back to being bored.

And then Lucy learned that she had the mother-in-law from hell. The woman burst into the front door of the house and sent all of the staff into a tizzy. Lucy was surprised when a short, dark haired woman who looked cold as ice burst into the bedroom just as she was finishing looking through her cell phone's phonebook. She looked up, alarmed and was pretty much ready to go into battle mode when the woman started pacing around the room, complaining about fine china and linen or something for some party. Lucy frowned and watched as the room paced in front of the bed. She definitely resembled Matt, which is how she deduced that it was his mother. "What?" Lucy finally interrupted her tirade, hoping to figure out what in the hell was going on.

"You're supposed to be helping with the party for the country club. Remember?" The woman stopped pacing finally, turning icy eyes onto Lucy.

From the tone of her voice it was obvious that Lucy was supposed to know what she was talking about. "Sorry, things have been a little crazy lately. I-"

The woman waved her hand around, dismissing any excuse she had. "Right, right that doesn't matter. You need to get dressed and come with me right now. We need to go check out linens and china."

"But I am dressed..."

"In _that_? Oh darling, no." She shook her head, pointing towards the walk-in closet that Lucy was pretty sure her whole apartment in Texas could fit in. "Go change. Right now."

She had a feeling that was an order. Lucy just nodded and watched as the woman disappeared out of the bedroom. She stood and went into the closet, completely at a loss as what to put on. "What a bitch..." She mumbled as she looked through all of 'her' clothes. "This isn't all what I wished for."


	25. Chapter 25

_AN: Again, spoilers for episode 220- What Is and What Should Never Be._ :)

* * *

Lucy also learned quickly that Matt was never home for dinner. Of course it wasn't like her, Sam, and Dean sat down to dinner together but she thought in this "life" that she would have the stereotypical life. A loving husband, a perfect child. Pretty much a perfect life. But that just wasn't the way it was. Instead, after spending a long afternoon out with her mother-in-law Silvia, she found herself eating a bag of chips alone in the kitchen. She thought of cooking, since it was something she normally didn't get to do, but she was too tired. After she'd eaten her fill of junk, she wandered up the stairs and into the nursery. Maria was changing the baby out of the outfit she'd been in during the day and into a pair of pink and white pajamas. Lucy had found that Silvia had, had a lot to do with the decorating of the whole house and that included the nursery. She also thought that Silvia had an awful lot to do with Eva's wardrobe. No one owned _that _much pink willingly. She stood next to the nanny, watching as Eva laughed and kicked her chubby little legs in the air. "I can put her down, Maria." She said softly.

Maria nodded and disappeared from the room once the baby was changed and dressed. Lucy picked her up and couldn't help but smile as the little girl leaned her head heavily on her her shoulder as she held her close. It was still hard to believe that this was _hers_ because certainly, she didn't deserve it. It was the perfect life, even if it had its most imperfect things about it. As Eva fell asleep and she transported her into the crib, Lucy took a moment to really look at her. She didn't really resemble Matt a lot. Eva had her dark hair and skin tone. She also had her nose but she definitely had someone else's eyes and mouth. Those eyes were pretty familiar too, Lucy just couldn't think of who they belonged to. But Lucy just shook her head, figuing her mind was just racing too much, and pushed away from the crib to leave the nursery.

The house was still empty and Matt wasn't home yet so she decided to surf the Internet. There was still a lot that she didn't know; like what had happened to Sam and Dean. She still hadn't heard from her parents but thought she'd call them again the next day, just to see if she could hear both of their voices. If she could hear that, then that would make just about everything worthwhile. Once the computer loaded everything, she opened an internet browser and started clicking around, typing in _'Sam Winchester'_ first. A few articles were brought up and she started clicking on them. Sam had gone to law school! That made her grin to read that he'd graduated from law school just because she knew that had been his goal. He'd said he wanted to go back eventually, even if it wasn't to finish law school and instead get a different degree.

After reading about Sam for a good twenty minutes, she went back to the search engine and typed in '_Dean Winchester'._ This time it brought up a whole lot more than his brother's had. The first was an obituary. She clicked on that one pretty quickly, leaning in to read over it. He'd died? Apparently he'd died in a car accident. She frowned and sat back in the chair. "A car accident," She mumbled. Surely she would've known about it, especially since it had happened about ten months before.

Her frown grew even deeper as she did the math in her head. And then she remembered those eyes that Eva had that definitely weren't Matt's or hers. She clicked on a few other links on the search page but also started digging a little deeper. Good thing she'd picked up more than a few research tips from the Winchester's.

* * *

Dean had started seeing things. Or at least he was pretty damn sure he was seeing things. But some girl kept appearing to him, pale and grey and pretty much the definite meaning of "death warmed over". His whole family had gone out that evening for his mom's birthday. His mom had a _birthday_ to celebrate! It was one of those restaurants that he normally wouldn't be caught dead in just because there were too many utensils. Plus he had to dress up of all things. But it was for her birthday and that's all that mattered. He and Carmen were seated next to each other while Sam and Jess were on the other side of the table. Dean found that he really liked Carmen (besides the whole being hot thing too). She seemed intelligent, not like some of the women he'd had contact with over the years, and she made him laugh. But as much as he liked her, Carmen wasn't Lucy. And as much as he tried to forget about everything he'd known and as much as he tried to live in the _now_, he found he couldn't really. But it was a happy night and made even more so with finding out that Sam had proposed to Jess. Dean was finding it hard to keep the grin off his face.

Until he saw the girl again. He'd hurried to grab her, to figure out what the hell was going on but she disappeared as soon as he got close enough. As he turned around, he saw the looks they were giving him. All looked worried and he was sure he probably looked like he'd just seen a ghost. He was beginning to think that's exactly what it was, although he wasn't quite sure why his old life had followed him to the new one. It took seeing the girl in his apartment for him to decide that he needed to get out of this. This wasn't all he had wished for, this was turning into a nightmare.

* * *

She'd torn the bedroom apart, looking for anything that would prove her theory. She'd looked over the wedding picture on the dresser, finding the small baby bump hidden under the dress. That'd been one point proven: she'd been pregnant with Eva when she got married. She also found that her smile in the picture looked more forced than anything. She didn't look like a happy, blushing bride. Sighing, she closed one of the dresser drawers and turned around in a circle. There had to be something in the room somewhere that could prove her big theory.

Grabbing her phone, she scrolled through the long list of numbers. Half the names she didn't recognize. Then Lucy paused on her parents' number. Hesitating for only a second, she pressed 'send' before holding the phone against her ear. The phone started ringing on the other end and she disappeared into the closet to start digging through the mounds of clothes in there. If she had to tear apart the whole damn house she'd do it. But she froze as a voice on the other end of the phone answered. Her mom had a soft, southern-twinged voice that always made her feel safe and warm. And hearing that after everything was nearly enough to make her cry.

"Hello?" Her mother's voice asked again.

It was then that Lucy figured out how to get her brain and mouth to work at the same time. "Mom?"

"Lucy? What're you doing calling us?"

"I...I wanted to hear your voice." She sat down in the middle of the floor, clutching the phone to her ear as if that would make her feel that much closer to her mom.

"What's wrong? You don't call just to talk anymore, you know."

"Maybe we should change that. I...needed to talk to you. About Dean."

Her mom was silent on the line for a good minute and to Lucy it felt like an absolute eternity. "Honey, why do you want to talk about him now?"

"I want to know what happened!" She blurted out. "I mean, I can't...I can't remember."

"It was a car accident Lucy. A drunk driver came across the center line on the road, slammed into him." She sighed softly. "Why do you want to dredge all this up now? You've got a husband and a baby now. Dean was the past."

"Is Eva his?"

"Lucy..."

"Mom, please?"

"You weren't very far along. You'd told me that you'd told him the afternoon before the accident happened. Matt and him had a lot of the same friends, you'd known him for about as long as you'd known Dean. He was there for you after the funeral."

"And I just randomly decided to marry the guy?"

"He could offer you a lot, Lucy. He has offered you a lot." Her mom let out another sigh. "Honey, what happened to bring all this out all of a sudden? You'd been doing so good. Is Matt there?"

"No. He's not home yet." Lucy chewed on her lip. Her theory had been proven. But she was finding that she didn't like this weird version of herself, she didn't think she liked Matt all that much and she knew she didn't like her mother-in-law. "Um, where's dad?"

"He's out in the back reading the newspaper. Do I need to call Matt or someone?"

"No I'm fine, really." Lucy rubbed a hand over her face. "I just really wanted to hear your voice."

"I'm glad you called, call more often okay? And if anything's wrong, just call me Lucy."

"Thanks mom."

"I love you sweetheart."

Lucy sucked in a breath and she was sure her heart had stopped in her chest. It'd felt like forever since she'd heard _that_. Biting her lip she nodded her head, even though she was on the phone. "I love you too mom." She finally managed to whisper into the phone.

Lucy left the closet and dropped the phone off onto the bed. She went back into the nursery, finding Eva sound asleep in the crib. Leaning over the railing, Lucy found herself smiling. The baby really _did _look a lot like Dean now that she thought about it. She was almost his spitting image just with her hair coloring. It was all just too much to find out. Too much to find out and know that there was no way to go back and change it.

* * *

Dean had gone to his mother's house to find any bit of silver he could find. The end goal was to find the djinn again. If he could find that asshole again, he could probably get home. Of course he hadn't betted on Sam waking up and trying to tackle him. But Sam had followed him out to the car, spouting off something about how they were brothers and that Sam wanted to help him. Sam was also looking at him like he had completely lost his mind but Dean wasn't going to argue. If Sam wanted to help then he wouldn't stop him.

It was nearly an all night drive at a breakneck pace just to find that damn warehouse out in the middle of nowhere near Joliet. Sam had told him more than once to turn around, to go back home. But he chose to ignore his brother, knowing that _this_ wasn't his real brother. This was some pansy ass version of him. So he wasn't too surprised when Sam started to protest them going inside the warehouse once it was found. Dean mostly just told him to stay quiet and stay behind him. Hopefully he'd listen.

He held a flashlight in his hand as he walked towards what sounded like a girl crying. He could feel Sam at his back and could also feel the tension the younger man had all through his body. Dean wanted to feel bad about dragging this weird version of his brother with him but truth was, he didn't. They came around a corner and Dean felt his heart speed up just a bit; skeletons hung from the ceiling with their arms tied up above their heads. He'd seen the same thing, in his closet. Then he spotted her across the room and the two of them made their way to the girl. She was the same one that had appeared to Dean in the restaurant and in the street. She wasn't much better off than the rotting skeletons on the other side of the room, her eyes were open but weren't focused on any one thing and her skin was still grey and ashen. She looked on the verge of death. "Dean, what's going on?" Sam asked as he noticed the bag of blood hanging near the girl. She was making some kind of whimpering noise but wasn't forming any words.

Dean grabbed him, shushing him as he noticed something moving in the shadows. He shoved Sam back towards a staircase to hide before the djinn could see them. They watched as he approached the girl, listened as she asked for her father and pleaded with him to let go of her, to find her father. They also watched as the djinn drank some of her blood from the bag. Sam made a noise loud enough for the djinn to hear so they had to hunker down before he saw them. Sam then started freaking out, insisting that they leave before that 'thing' came back.

Dean then saw another flash of himself, pale and grey hanging from the ceiling just like the others. "Maybe I'm in here too.." He was muttering, well aware that he sounded pretty crazy. Sam was looking at him as if a third head had just sprouted out of his shoulder. He started walking around, trying to find something he wasn't sure existed.

Grabbing the knife from his pocket, he watched as Sam stepped back, his eyes wide. "Dean what are you doing?"

"This is all some sort of dream..."

"And you're going to kill yourself?"

"It's an old wives tale, if you're about to die in a dream you wake up."

Sam shook his head. "What? Wait a minute Dean, don't do that. It's crazy!"

"Maybe."

Sam took a step forward, making as if he was going to reach for the knife but took a step back when Dean held it with the point facing out towards him. "Okay, okay Dean."

"I'm pretty sure I'm going to wake up if I do this Sam." He seemed to think about it for a moment, hesitating even though he held the knife in towards himself. "Well, ninety percent sure."

"WAIT!" Sam shouted and it was enough to make Dean hesitate again.

It was then that he saw his mom out of the corner of his eye, moving towards him. He looked at her as she walked towards him, pretty and perfect like he remembered her, then looked back at Sam. Sam just looked at him before saying, "why'd you have to keep digging?"

Carmen and Jess both appeared as well as Sam kept on with, "Why couldn't you leave well enough alone?"

Dean felt cornered, torn between something he'd always wished for and what he knew was the truth. It was even worse when Mary moved in front of him, giving him a look that only a mother could perfect. He was starting to wonder what would happen if he stayed, if he stayed in this perfect little life that didn't really exist. But he shook his head as his mom asked him to put the knife down. "You're not real. None of it is."

"It doesn't matter. It's still better than anything you had." Mary said, almost as if she were stating the obvious.

"What?"

"It's everything you dreamed of. We're a family again. Let's just go home now."

Part of him really, really wanted to stay. Part of him wanted to believe that this _was_ real. But deep down Dean knew that it was all part of the way the djinn worked. "I'll die. The djinn will drain the life out of me in a couple of days."

"But in here, it'll feel like a lifetime. I promise." She touched his face then and he nearly closed his eyes as he leaned into the touch. It was the type of touch he could hardly remember and hated when he'd forgotten.

Carmen stepped forward then, her hands touching both sides of his face and she leaned up to kiss him. "We can have a future together. Have our own family. I love you Dean. Please, stay." Dean was blinking hard and fast because a big part of him did want that. But he was pretty sure that he didn't want it with Carmen. She wasn't the one that he wanted to make laugh and she wasn't the one that he wanted all those cheesy things with.

But then Sam moved forward and he suddenly felt like he was in on some weird intervention of some sort. But he guessed that's what it sort of was. The djinn could convince his mind that this was real, that this was the perfect life for him and if he stayed, the djinn could have its way with him. Sam looked at him pleadingly. "Why is our job to save everyone? Haven't we done enough?" He asked before holding out his hand. "I'm begging you Dean, give me the knife."

He looked at each of them for a moment, he couldn't believe he was actually contemplating staying here with them. As much as he wanted this to be real, as much as he wanted Sam happy and Jess alive and most of all wanted his mom alive, he knew there was something more. There was something else in his 'old' life that would make all of the bad things they'd dealt with and gone through worth it. Something in his head was telling him that. And it was then he knew that he had to do it before he could change his mind again. "I'm sorry," He whispered right before pushing the knife right into his stomach.

"Dean!"

He heard Sam's voice and it sounded like..._his_ Sam. His eyes fought their way open even though they felt heavy and really, the idea of going back to sleep or whatever was pretty tempting. Sam was standing below him, shaking him in a not-so-gentle manner. "Dean? Dean, wake up!" He ordered, aware that he suddenly sounded a hell of a lot like their father.

Dean's eyes blinked slowly and it felt like he was moving in slow motion. But finally Sam was more in focus in front of him, looking like the worrywart he always was. "Thank God, I thought I almost lost you for a second." He said as he reached up to pull the needles that were practically embedded in the side of his neck.

"You almost did." He said, wincing as Sam pulled one needle free.

"Let's get you down." Sam said mostly to himself as he reached up to start cutting at the rope that binded Dean's wrists above his head with a knife.

"Lucy? Where's Lucy?" He asked as he tried not to feel the rope burning into his wrists.

"I...don't know. I didn't see her."

"Sam!" He exclaimed suddenly as he saw something blue out of the corner of his eye.

Sam turned, swinging the knife out in the direction of the djinn as it came out of the shadows. He'd only cut halfway through the ropes but Dean started to pull as hard as he could to get them to break the rest of the way. If he couldn't get down...well he wasn't going to think about that. Sam and the djinn were struggling with the knife but eventually it clattered to the floor. The djinn pushed him, making him hit nearly head first into the stairs. But Sam didn't have time to think about the pounding in his head as he was turned around and found himself face to face with a very pissed off djinn.

Dean managed to finally free himself, dropping down onto the ground hard. He scrambled across the floor with his head swimming to grab the knife off the floor. Then he came up on the djinn as it held his brother by the throat, ready to do what had been done to him and Dean shoved the knife right in its back. The djin reared up like a horse and Dean twisted the knife as hard as he could. The lights literally went out in its eyes as he pulled the knife from its back and watched as the djinn dropped to the floor. He helped Sam to his feet and the two started the search for Lucy.

The warehouse was still dark and Dean found his head was still swimming. If he was being honest with himself, he thought he was going to pass out a few times but kept pushing. He knew they had a limited amount of time to find her before it would be too late. They came upon the girl he'd seen in his dream. She was hanging lifeless with the same needles in her neck. Dean reached up to pull it from her neck, surprised to find a tear rolling down her cheek. His eyes widened as he felt for a pulse, surprised to feel a faint one under his fingers. Sam moved forward and started to cut at the ropes, watching as Dean carefully laid her down on the floor. Sam handed him the knife then, "I'll stay with her. Go look for Lucy. If you need me, just yell."

Dean nodded and took off, knife in hand. It took him only a few minutes to find her, hanging much in the same postion he and the other girl had been. She was tucked away in a corner, her arms tied above her head. It looked like she'd struggled, given the marks he could see on her wrists. Hurrying forward as fast as his heavy legs would carry him, Dean reached up to touch her. Her skin was clammy and was pretty cold. He was half afraid they were too late, that she'd died alone in a place like this. His hands were shaking as he reached further to start cutting at the thick ropes that held her captive. She let out a groan suddenly as she was jostled some by his movements. He froze and pulled back enough to look at her. "Lucy? Lucy, wake up!"

Her eyes blinked a few times, blurry and unfocused for a moment before she found him. "Dean?" She whispered hoarsely.

He nodded and made quick work to get the needles out of her neck before going back to work on cutting the ropes. "Just hold on. I'm going to get you down and we're gonna get out of here." He was talking more to comfort himself since he was pretty sure she'd lost consciousness again. Blood was soaked into her clothes and he knew it wasn't just from the small wounds on her neck.

"You're dead..." She said quietly as he cut through one part of the rope.

"No I'm not. You're not either." He let out a grunt as the knife sliced through the other half of the rope.

She collapsed in a heap against him. Dean was probably lucky he'd always had pretty good balance because otherwise they both would've toppled to the floor. He finally noticed the head wound she'd gotten and knew that they'd most definitely be taking a trip to the hospital. Lucy mumbled something he couldn't make out as he picked her up, carrying her back in the direction of Sam and the girl.

* * *

She wasn't aware of much besides being poked, prodded and being interrupted by some really annoying bright light. But when she finally was able to open her eyes once they didn't feel like they weighed a ton, she found herself lying in a hospital bed, in a hospital gown. Looking around quickly, she half wondered if this was some other fantasy life. She was surprised to see Dean and Sam in the room with her though. Shifting some in the uncomfortable hospital bed, she managed a small smile when Dean was startled out of his sleep. He looked up at her, surprised to see her awake. The ER doctor that had taken care of her had said she'd suffered a pretty bad concussion.

Dean stood and walked over to the bed. "About time, you know you gave us quick the scare."

She looked confused for a moment. "Are you...you're real, right?"

"Yeah." He sat down on the edge of the bed carefully. His body was screaming for him to get some sleep but his mind was working on overtime. He could remember everything still and it made his head hurt, to be honest. "You remember the djinn?"

She nodded, reaching up to touch the bandage on her head. "What happened?"

"Think you got hit in the head. You've got a concussion, they gave you a sedative that was supposed to make you rest."

"My head's just...swimming." She dropped her hand onto the bed, noticing the two bandages covering both wrists. "What the hell?"

"Rope burn." Dean smiled wryly, "Uh we had fun trying to explain that one."

"Did you get caught too?" She asked after a long moment of silence.

He didn't really want to get into it while they were in a hospital, surrounded by people who would think they were both completely insane. But he nodded. "Yeah. We'll talk about it later."

Luckily she got the hint right away and she nodded. Reaching out with one hand, she touched his arm. Mostly it was to make sure he _was_ real and it was also just to reassure him that she was fine. He looked worried and he looked exhausted. "Take Sammy and go get some rest. Please?"

"I don't want to leave you here."

She let out a snort and held up the arm that had an IV hanging out of it. "I'm not goin' anywhere. Go on, go back to the hotel. It's better than being here, trust me."

Dean contemplated it for a moment but he finally nodded his head. Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss against her forehead. "You get some rest too."

"Only if you bring me a cheeseburger when you come to bust me out of here." She said, covering a yawn.

He laughed softly and agreed as he stood from the bed. She was already well on her way back to sleep as he shook Sam to get him up. They stuck around a few more minutes before leaving her alone, each silently promising to come back as soon as they slept just a little bit.


	26. Chapter 26

_AN: a few spoilers for 220- What Is and What Should Never Be!  
_

* * *

He was tired and knew he should sleep but he couldn't seem to close his eyes to relax enough. Sam was watching him, but wasn't trying to push him into talking at least. Dean finally sighed and laid back on the bed. "It was weird." He said finally. "It was weird, yet it was just about everything I could've wished for. Mom was alive, you had Jess. It was all pretty near perfect."

Sam swung his legs over the side of the bed, sitting up to watch him. He wasn't paying the least bit of attention to Sam, just staring up at the ceiling as if he was the only one in the room. "Yeah but you said you and I didn't get along?"

"Not at all." He laughed at that, turning his head to look at him. "Can you imagine?"

"Not really." Sam shook his head. He couldn't imagine him and Dean not being close. They were all they had left of their immediate family and while they'd had the normal sibling spats they never did stay really mad at each other for very long. When Sam had gone off to college they hadn't talked and there had been lots of times Sam wanted to pick up the phone and called Dean, to make sure that he and their father were okay. But something had stopped him; possibly because of his own selfishness to prove that he could do the whole college thing on his own. "I'm glad you pulled yourself out Dean."

He let out a long sigh. "I almost didn't, to be honest."

"So you didn't have Lucy around?"

Dean's frown grew deeper and he eventually shook his head. "No. She was living some high-dollar life, married with a kid. And then there was a uh...nursery fire."

Sam raised an eyebrow at that, of all things that was pretty unimaginable. "So she...?"

"Yeah." He rubbed a hand over his face and sat up. "Speaking of Lucy, I should go back over there so she's not alone."

"Just stay here. She's fine, the other girl is going to be fine. Get some rest." Sam shifted to kick off his shoes. "Seriously, sleep Dean. We'll go over there first thing in the morning."

He sighed, looking over at his brother. "Do you think it's worth it, to live like this?"

"Yeah. I do. We save people Dean." He said as he shrugged out of his shirt.

"Yeah but is it really worth it?"

Sam wasn't sure where this was all coming from but it wasn't often Dean opened up enough to have deep conversations. A lot of the time he kept things inside, content to deal with it all in his head. Sam thought it over for a moment before he nodded, standing to change out of the clothes he'd had for two days. "To me it is. Me, you and dad have saved a lot of people. It's what we're supposed to do. You pulled yourself out of that because you knew it wasn't right. You knew, deep down somewhere that it wasn't what we were meant for. Yeah it would be nice to have mom around, to be in law school and engaged to Jess but it just wasn't meant to be."

Sam made sense and Dean knew it. He didn't want to admit it, but he was. They might not have the most ideal life by normal standards but they were doing _some_ good. Dean knew he would be bored out of his mind if he just quit hunting. He'd be antsy about getting back out on the road. The car and the job were engrained in his mind, body and soul. Most likely that would never change. He laid back on the bed, listening as Sam changed his clothes and checked the locks again. He turned his head, watching as his little brother looked over the salt lines surrounding the window just in case, before he flopped down onto the bed. "You're right Sam," He said finally.

"Yeah I know." Sam laughed as he reached up to turn off the light. "Get some sleep, okay?"

"Yeah. Sure." He was quiet, listening to the sounds outside of the hotel and of his brother in the next bed. It was hard to turn his mind off enough to the point where he felt comfortable closing his eyes. It was quite some time before he relaxed enough to sleep and even then it was a pretty restless sleep.

* * *

Lucy hated hospitals. Between the smell, the grumpy head nurse she'd encountered, the fact she was sharing a room with someone else and the nurses who checked on them every two hours (or less), she didn't know what was worse. She hadn't been able to get much sleep through the night since her and her roommate were both getting checked on constantly. But her head had quit hurting and she felt like she was in a little better frame of mind. Really, all Lucy wanted to do was go back to the hotel and get some real sleep, maybe eat a real meal.

She was dozing when she heard footsteps sometime around ten a.m. They sounded familiar and she instantly knew it wasn't one of the nurses or the doctor that had come to check on her earlier in the morning. She opened her eyes, smiling when she saw Dean in front of her. "Hey...morning." She said as she stretched some, her muscles felt so damn tight. It would be nice to get out of the bed sometime soon.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" He asked as he came closer to the bed. He shot a look over towards the other bed. "Who's that?" He asked quietly.

"Some girl, was in a minor car accident." Shrugging a shoulder, Lucy pushed herself up into a better sitting position. "She hasn't said much. I'm feeling okay though, I think I may get released this afternoon."

"Good." He smiled as he sat down on the edge of the bed. "Hospitals give me the creeps."

"I know the feeling. I didn't sleep hardly at all, the nurses kept coming in to take vitals and all that." She let out a soft sigh. "You didn't do what you said you were going to do."

Dean raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Cheeseburger."

"Oh!" He knew he'd forgotten something. "Well, once you're out of here then we'll get you a cheeseburger on the way back to the hotel."

"Okay. I need a shower too." She settled back against the pillows, watching as Dean picked at a hole that was forming in the knee of his jeans. "What?"

He shook his head, offering her a small smile. "Nothin' really."

"Yeah right." Lucy reached out, poking her index finger into his shoulder hard. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know. This whole thing has just...I don't know, it's screwed with my head." He let out a sigh, catching her hand with his. The bandage wrapped around her wrist was too white against her skin, he thought. "You know what I mean?"

Lucy nodded, watching as his fingers brushed over the bandage wrapped around her wrist. "Yeah. Everytime I close my eyes, I see everything like it's some movie replaying in my mind."

He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a nurse bustling in. She raised an eyebrow in Dean's direction before saying, "Visiting hours aren't until 11."

"Really? I could've sworn it said ten.." He stood from the edge of the bed, shooting Lucy a smile before he looked at the nurse. "Uh, do you know when she might be discharged?"

The nurse stopped at the end of the bed, picking up the chart and flipping through it. "Everything looks normal so it should be this afternoon."

"Good. I'll come back then to get her." He turned back to Lucy and leaned down, pressing a kiss against her mouth. "I'll be back."

She was a little surprised at the kiss, she hadn't really been expected it. Not that she minded, but it was almost strange to be kissed by Dean after dealing with her _husband_ for however long she was in that weird version of her life. But she smiled and watched as he left the room. The nurse scribbled a few things, then glanced at Lucy with a smile. "You know, you're a very lucky woman to have a guy like that."

To be honest, she wasn't sure how to react. She couldn't remember whether or not they were using fake names (she guessed they were) and she couldn't remember what story had been told to the doctors and nurses. She chose to nod her head, "Yeah he's pretty great." And the truth was, Dean _was _pretty great.

* * *

Dean wore a ballcap as he stood at the nurse's station later that afternoon, letting one of the nurse's go over things and symptoms he should be looking for in case Lucy had other problems. He figured he needed to wear some kind of disguise (not that a baseball hat he stole off Sam was a "disguise") in case he ran into any cops wandering around the hospital. Part of him was just waiting to get caught and he thought it'd be somewhere random; like a hospital. Mostly he just wanted to get Lucy out of here, get back to the hotel so they could all rest up and then get the hell out of Joliet.

He folded the papers together, putting on his best polite smile as the nurse finished her lecture as another nurse wheeled Lucy out from the room she'd been in. "Well don't you look cute.." He said with a grin.

She wasn't happy about being practically forced into the wheelchair. She was capable of walking out on her own but the nurse had cited hospital policy. Rolling her eyes at him, she shook her head. "Are we ready?"

"Yep. We are all ready to go." He smiled at the nurse, "Can I take her from here?"

The nurse hesitated but nodded her head and let Dean take the wheelchair, pushing it down the hallway towards the elevators. Lucy looked up at him, "you better not shove me into a wall or anything."

"Now why would I do that? I am a complete gentleman." He grinned down at her, stopping once they reached the elevators. He leaned around her and the wheelchair, pressing the down button. "So you feeling okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine Dean." She smiled, shifting to look at him. "You're such a worrywart!"

He shook his head, pushing her into the elevator once the doors opened. "I am not."

"Liar." She let out a sigh, moving to stand from the wheelchair.

He put a hand on her shoulder to push her back down. "Just wait until we're out of here."

"Oh come on Dean. I'm fine!"

"Just humor me." He said as the elevator began its descent towards the first floor.

Lucy was scowling but she sat back down, staring straight ahead at the doors. She thought it was stupid to have to sit in a damn wheelchair when she was perfectly capable of getting up and walking on her own. And she was pretty sure that there were lots of other people who could use the wheelchair she was currently occupying. Dean was smiling though, he thought she looked just like a kid who didn't get their way but he didn't say anything. He just shook his head as the doors slid open and he pushed her out into the lobby. "You still want a cheeseburger?" He asked as he stopped just outside of the hospital doors.

"Yeah." She turned to look up at him, "So am I allowed to stand up or do I have to wait here while you go get the car?"

He laughed, "You can get up. I'll let you walk to the car."

She stood from the wheelchair and let out a sigh. For some reason she felt that much closer to freedom just being able to walk on her own. It seemed for the past day or so she couldn't even go to the bathroom on her own without someone following or coming to check on her two seconds after she'd gotten up. Dean pushed the wheelchair back into the lobby of the hospital and came back to her, reaching a hand out towards her. "C'mon, we'll go get you something to eat."

"You mean for once you're not hungry?" She asked, slipping her hand into his. It was nice to have him _there_ and be able to touch and feel him. At least Dean was real. There were few constants in her life, he and Sam were two of them.

"I could eat." He said with a shrug of his shoulders as he swung his keys around in his free hand. "I'm just not _starving_."

The rest of the walk across the parking lot was pretty quiet. Dean hung around the passenger side door until she was sitting inside comfortably. She didn't want to say anything about him hovering around but if he kept it up she might have to. It wasn't really that she minded the hovering but Lucy was used to doing most everything on her own. But she just settled back against the seat of the Impala and closed her eyes, listening as he got into the driver's side and started the car.

"You want to get food and go on back to the hotel?" He asked once they were a little ways away from the hospital.

She nodded but didn't look at him. "Yeah that's fine Dean."

Dean nodded his head even though she wasn't looking in his direction. He wanted to ask what was wrong but had a feeling he knew what that answer would be. It didn't take long to find a fast food restaurant and he left her in the car long enough to go inside, order them both food (after he'd decided he _was_ hungry) and then go back out to the car.

She hadn't moved in the time it took him to go get their food. She was still leaning against the passenger side door, staring out the window. He set the bags of food in between them before starting the car again. "Lucy?"

She finally moved and turned to look at him. "Yeah?"

"You okay?" It was a stupid question, sure, but he just didn't know how else to ask her. He wasn't sure how to broach the subject of the djinn.

She smiled a little bit and nodded, reaching for one of the bags. "Yeah I'm okay. Quit worrying about me Dean. I know I'm acting like a huge...idiot."

He laughed as they started the drive back to the hotel. "You're not acting like an idiot."

"Well I feel like it!" She sighed moreso to herself, reaching into the bag and pulling out a few fries. "I think if I could just sleep for like...a day then I would be a whole lot better."

"You can sleep today, that's my plan anyway."

"What's Sam been doing?"

"Hanging out at the hotel." He glanced at her for a moment before looking back at the road. "You're going to eat all the fries you know.."

Lucy gave him a grin before shrugging a shoulder. "I told you I was hungry."

* * *

Sam was waiting for them in the room when Dean and Lucy came inside, with Dean carrying most of the food while she had been 'allowed' to carry her drink. "Hey Sam," She said brightly.

He gave her a smile from his spot on the bed closest to the door. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Better. Well I think I smell like the hospital but I'm okay." She said as she sat down on the other bed that had been deemed hers when they'd checked in a couple of days before. She felt so tired all of a sudden but figured it was partly because she hadn't slept much the night before and partly because of everything that had happened.

Sam stood to help Dean with the food, grabbing a few fries out of one of the bags. "You all have any trouble getting out of the hospital?"

"No. My so-called disguise worked, thank you very much." Dean looked slightly proud of the fact that he'd gotten in and out of a hospital with just a ballcap on. "We got in and out easily enough."

"Good." He laughed as he took his seat again, reaching for the remote. "I had no faith in the ballcap disguise...but you were right."

He gave a grin, handing a bag of food to Lucy. "That's your food. And damnit I'm always right!"

Her and Sam shared a look but had the decency not to laugh outright at Dean. He had been right though, they hadn't even glanced at him twice. But it just meant they were going to have to get rid of more credit cards and get the hell out of Joliet as soon as possible.

* * *

Sam hung around for awhile but even Lucy could tell that he was getting antsy hanging around the hotel room. He finally took the car keys, with much protest from Dean, and said he'd be back later. "I don't see why he has to take my car."

"It's not like he has his _own_ to drive around. Plus does he really take it that often?" She asked pointedly as she sat indian-style on the bed, her fingers picking at the bandage on one wrist.

Dean sighed but shook his head. "No he doesn't."

She looked over at him, "will you get these off? They itch like hell."

He stood from the other bed, gathering up the trash from their food to throw it away. Sitting on the other bed, he reached over to take her right wrist. "So you ready to get out of here in the next day or two?" He asked as his fingers worked to get the bandage and tape off.

"Yes." She laughed as she watched him, his mouth was set in a line and his eyes were narrowed as he picked at the tape. "When are we planning to leave?"

"A ha!" He exclaimed as he got the bandage off one wrist. He wasn't too surprised to see the angry red mark bright against her skin. "Uh I don't know. We'll probably wait a day or two, rest up before heading out."

"You'd like to leave earlier though?" She asked as she held up her other hand.

Dean smiled but shrugged a shoulder as he went to work on her other wrist. "Yeah. I would like to put some more distance between us and the whole state of Arkansas but we probably do need to get some real rest."

"Yeah."

"Plus Sam said if I tried to make us leave earlier than he thought we should that he'd lock me in the bathroom." He gave her a grin as he got the other bandage off.

"Did you want to stay..?" She asked suddenly.

He cleaned up the mess from the bandages and threw it away. "In the warehouse? Not especially.."

Lucy laughed, shaking her head. "No! It was supposed to be your perfect world, right?"

He took a seat next to her, stretching his legs out on the bed beside her. "Part of me did. In a lot of ways it was pretty damn perfect." A big part of him _had_ almost given up the relationship he had wit his brother and Lucy's life just so his mom could be alive. He didn't know how to tell her though. But he was sort of afraid that she just wouldn't care.

She shifted enough to lean against him, turning her head to see him better. "What was it like for you?"

"Well, I was in Lawrence again" He started, shifting to wrap his arm around her shoulders. "I woke up next to this uh...girl, Carmen. Apparently she was my girlfriend. I freaked out though, called Sam and he had no idea what I was talking about. He accused me of drunk dialing him. So I ran, I drove across town and went _home_. The house was still there, still exactly as it stood when I was four. It was so weird. Even weirder was going to the door and knocking on the door and coming face to face with my mom." Dean started to ramble a bit then, telling her everything from finding out his dad had died from a stroke to Sam and Jessica showing up to the fact that he'd found that Lucy had been married but had died in a nursery fire. She'd tensed a bit at that but made him keep going. So he did, eventually ending with how he got out of it and how they had found her in the warehouse. "Isn't it sad though? I almost wanted to give this all up, just to have my family back."

She sat up more, shaking her head. "No, it's not sad at all. But you have Sam and you two get along most of the time. But you're each other's backbones. _That's_ your family Dean."

Dean was quiet for awhile but he eventually nodded his head, knowing that she was right. He just hated to tell her that his little slightly dysfunctional family included her as well.

He got her to talk about her experience next, wanting to know everything she'd gone through. He bristled a bit when she told him that she'd been married but had to laugh when she said the guy was an accoutant. "I never took you for the nerd type Luce." He said with a teasing grin.

"Too bad you and him were friends!" She laughed as she settled back against him.

Sam came back then, closing the door behind himself. "The library was closed by the time I got there.." He said with a shrug as he sat down on the other bed. "What're you all talking about?"

"About what happened." Dean said with a nod.

"Oh yeah, go ahead. Sorry."

She laughed, "It's okay. Anyway I was telling Dean that I woke up next to this guy who I was apparently married to. He ended up being an _accountant_." It was her turn to start rambling again, telling about wandering around a huge house and finding a baby in one of the other rooms. Both men wore looks of surprise when she told them about how she'd found that Dean had died but the baby was actually his. Not the man she'd been married too.

Dean sat back against the hotel-issued pillows, glancing at her. "So you and me had a kid?"

"Apparently. I had to do some digging but we were together for quite awhile. I told you I was pregnant the day of the accident and you died that night." She smiled some, a little sadly. "My mom told me and you know I hadn't realized how much I missed their voices until then. It was really strange. And I know it wasn't realy but part of me almost wishes it was."

Dean nodded, "I know what you mean."

Sam stretched out on the other bed, turning his head to look at the two of them. "Sounds like some parts were perfect while other parts were maybe your brain trying to make you question everything for a reason. I'm just glad you're both okay."

Lucy smiled over at him, "I am too. I'm glad to be back in reality with you guys."

And as much as she wished that her parents were alive and that she had a different life than chasing some demon, she actually found that was true. She was happy to be where she was now, she didn't think she'd give it up for anything.


	27. Chapter 27

Joliet was put into the rearview mirror a couple of days later. Sam had insisted that Dean and Lucy both needed to rest some and it wasn't too hard to convince her of that. Dean had been antsy for the whole time though, pacing around the hotel room like a caged animal. They got rid of the latest batch of credit cards and had thought of changing the car's license plates again but the guys didn't do it before they left. They left one morning before the sun was completely above the horizon and Lucy had to admit, it was nice to be back on the road again.

It had been nice to do nothing for a few days but she felt a lot better as she climbed into the backseat. Both men spent a lot of time on the phone on that first day, mostly because neither of them knew where the next job was going to be. Dean was on the phone with Ash at the Roadhouse some while Sam talk to Bobby. All three of them had agreed that they needed to stay out of any kind of big city if it could be at all helped but they also wanted to stay out of the South. No point in bringing more attention to themselves than they had to. Plus Lucy didn't think it was wrong for her to assume that it was only a matter of time before Henrickson caught up to them again.

They stopped in Utah a few days later after a few leads didn't pan out. Mostly they stopped to rest up and do some research that didn't involve trying to find a signal from the front seat of the car. Lucy was glad to have a room of her own, not that she usually minded sharing a room with the two guys. It was just that sometimes she needed her own little bit of space. But she wasn't too awfully surprised to find Dean on the other side of the door later that night. She'd barely unpacked some of her clothes, a pile on the floor that definitely needed to be washed and another pile that just needed to be folded up better (rather than shoved in a big ball into her bag).

Neither of them wanted to ask the other about what they were doing though as he came inside the door after she opened it. It may have been in the back of their minds but both were probably just a bit too scared to bring it up to the other. Dean was afraid of ruining things with her if he asked her so he tried to concentrate on the way she tensed up and laughed against his mouth as his hands slid their way under her t-shirt and up her sides. He may not have been able to define what all of this was with Lucy but he did know that he liked being with her and liked being around her.

But if Dean was conflicted then Lucy definitely was. Going from friends to being _more_ than friends (or whatever they were doing) was difficult. She didn't want to put a label on them, not really at least. It was easier to just _be. _But she'd be a big liar if she said she didn't like that he wanted to be with her. She liked seeing Dean grin at her in the dark and she liked the way he laughed when she did or said something. It was nice. Everything about it was nice and perfect. She found that she didn't want it to end.

* * *

Lucy woke before him sometime just before the sun rose completely. Dean was laid out next to her, one arm wrapped around her with the other hanging off the side of the bed. This had to be the only time that he ever really relaxed and even then she wasn't sure he was _fully _relaxed. She knew there was a knife in the nightstand next to the bed, just in case. She smiled to herself though as she watched him sleep. He had the longest eyelashes of any guy she'd met before, long enough to be brushing against his cheeks as he dreamt. And up this close it was hard not to notice the smattering of freckles that made him look a lot like the little boy she remembered. Lucy was surprised when she felt his arm tighten around her and pull her right up against him. Laughing she wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning up to press a kiss against his forehead. "Thought you were sleeping," She said quietly. It was as if she talked in a normal tone that it might ruin everything.

"Could feel you watching me." He said it in a mumble, bending enough to bury his face against her shoulder.

She laughed as she ran her fingers through his hair, feeling it spike up between her fingers. "Sorry."

Dean's shoulders rose in a shrug and he got quiet. The only way she could tell that he hadn't gone back to sleep was because she could feel his eyelashes brushing against her shoulder as he blinked. He moved then, turning his head to kiss her temple as he pulled back some. "What time is it?" He asked as he laid back.

Lucy twisted in the bed to see the clock on the nightstand, laughing as his fingers moved to a ticklish spot on her side. "Quit, don't do that! It's a little after seven."

"A.M? Shit that's too early." He grumbled as he pulled her back down next to him. "Come on, go back to sleep."

She let out a sigh but settled against him, closing her eyes. It was pretty tempting to go back to sleep but for some reason she couldn't sleep. She looked up at him and found that his eyes were closed again, she was sure that he had already fallen back asleep. A smile broke his face but he didn't open his eyes again. "You're not going back to sleep Luce," He mumbled.

Laughing softly, she nodded her head. "I know, I know. I can't for some reason."

"It's too early to not be able to go back to sleep," He said mid-yawn.

"Oh really? That's your logic, huh?"

"Mmhm." He rested his chin on the top of her head, sighing softy. "Okay, okay so why can't you sleep?"

"Dunno. Just woke up, can't go back to sleep." She slid her hands down over his shoulders, closing her eyes again.

"I can think of a few ways to make you tired..."

She let out a snort and looked up at him, "You're horrible Dean Winchester."

He laughed but kept his arms tight around her, opening his eyes enough to look at her. "I know. But hey it's not my fault you can't sleep!"

Lucy just smiled and curled up against him with a soft sigh. She was pretty tired still and it was hard not to be completely comfortable lying around like she was.

* * *

Sam was sure that there wasn't a time that he didn't watch his brother, which sounded sort of creepy whenever he really thought about it. But even his earliest memories were full of his older brother; watching as Dean did all the things a child did. Dean was one of the few constants in his life so it probably wasn't too surprising that he'd idolized him from a young age. Dean always seemed so cool and confident, even as they moved from town to town and had to start all over. Sam could be cool and confident at times but mostly he was content to hang back and watch people, then make his move. Dean never seemed to go through that awkward teenage stage that most kids went through, although Sam sure as hell remembered it. He was tall, awkward and gangly. It was like his legs got too long and the rest of his body was too slow to catch up. Although it did come in handy at times when he wanted to appear intimidating to someone; whether it was butting heads with his dad or standing up to Dean for doing something idiotic...again.

Even now Sam still caught himself watching his brother. It was interesting to watch how Dean interacted with Lucy and the truth was Dean probably didn't even know he was doing anything out of the ordinary. Of course Dean thought he was being smooth and collected in his movements and conversations but Sam saw it differently. It probably helped that the two of them were _so _obviously into each other. Sam didn't know what had gone on between the two (and he didn't really want to know either) but he knew that something had gone on. Something that was enough to change the way they looked at each other. He hadn't seen Dean act like this with anyone; not even Cassie. This was a whole new level for Dean.

It was probably a good thing that Sam really liked Lucy, just not in the romantic sense. But he liked that he and Lucy could joke around with each other and could gang up on Dean together. She brought a new dynamic to the whole _job_. He guessed that there was a time when he probably had a crush on Lucy, and it was probably around the time he entered his teenage years. What wasn't to like? She was pretty, she was smart and she could put Dean in his place (especially with a mean right hook). She hadn't been like any of other girls he'd encountered up to that point, after all. She knew how to shoot a gun, how to throw a knife and knew more folklore and legends than any person should. Hell, Sam was pretty certain his dad had wanted to just adopt Lucy outright. But he'd grown out of his crush on Lucy and now that he thought about it, it really seemed like it was more than a few lifetimes ago. But Sam was glad she was along for the ride, she was grounded and level-headed when Dean and Sam weren't. And plus, she made Dean _smile_. It was something he didn't do often, always the ever-ready soldier about to go into battle. Sam was just going to have to remember to make fun of his brother just a little bit. After all, Dean had seemingly walked right into his own chick flick.

* * *

"Bullets."

"Check."

"Holy water."

"Yep."

"Lighters."

"Yes. Are you done interrogating me about the crap you keep in the trunk?"

"No. I'm trying to make a list of stuff we need."

She turned to stare at him as if Dean had just sprouted two heads out of his shoulder. "Because you can get _holy water _at Wal-Mart?"

"Hey, they sell everything else!" He shrugged as he went down the list he was making in front of him.

Lucy laughed as she slipped her shoes on her feet, sharing a look with Sam. "Well just because you can buy a six pack of boxers and a gun in the same building does not mean they stock holy water."

"You never know."

She threw her hands up in frustration, completely missing the grin on Dean's face. Sometimes traveling with two men could be utterly annoying. Dean stood and walked over to her, sliding one of his arms around her waist in a move that sort of surprised Sam. It was really the first time Dean was ever affectionate with her in front of him. Usually it was the little touches here or there that seemed private between the two of them. Sam just smiled though and ducked his head, scribbling a few things to add on to the list he was making. Lucy was trying her best to stay aggravated at Dean, but it was hard when he was giving her a teasing grin. She shook her head and attempted to untangle herself from him but it didn't work as he just tightened his arm around her. "I'm still mad at you," She said as she attempted to pull away again.

His arm tightened around her more although it wasn't enough to hurt her. "You can't stay mad at me."

Lucy snorted, slipping out of his grip as he bent down enough to kiss her quickly. "I could stay mad at you if I had to." She snatched up the list that Dean had been writing and glanced at Sam. "You ready to go?"

Sam looked up and nodded before he stood. "Yeah I think we've got everything."

"Great, bring me back some food." Dean flopped down on the bed, reaching for the remote to the TV. The hotel only seemed to get a couple of channels but it was better than nothing!

Lucy opened her mouth to say something but Sam just grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of the room. "C'mon, you can beat him up later." He laughed as she just huffed as the door closed behind him.

* * *

The minute she spotted a small bag of Doritos, she grabbed them and nearly tore them open much to the amusement of Sam, who had gotten a cart. They had a list and they needed to get everything, and then go back to the hotel. They were planning to leave in the next few days since both men were beginning to get antsy about getting back on the road. Even Lucy had to admit that she was getting anxious. For what? She didn't really know. But it was nice to be out of the hotel, even if the two of them were getting some strange looks as they wandered through the toy aisles.

She held the bag out towards him. "Want one?"

Sam laughed and reached in to take a chip. "Thanks." He was quiet for another moment, glancing at a few GI Joe action figures as they passed them. "Hey can I ask you something?"

"Sure." She turned down another aisle and they found themselves in something more appropriate for their age range. Dean had said they were running low on first aid equipment so they'd said they would pick up some things.

"What _is_ going on with you and my brother?" Curiosity killed the cat, he supposed.

But Sam didn't really need an answer when Lucy turned bright red from her head all the way down to her neck. She ducked her head as she grabbed a box of gauze. "Uh...nothing?"

He gave a snort as he tossed a few other things into the cart. "Yeah, that wasn't obvious or anything Luce."

She was quiet as they moved down another aisle, picking up a few other things. "Okay..." She started but then stopped. Sam just raised an eyebrow but kept quiet as they moved down the aisle again. "Okay. I don't know what's going on with us. It's just...okay, I don't want it to get weird and I'm not going to go into detail with you-"

"Thank God." He grinned at her.

She swatted at his arm as she took over pushing the cart. "Shut up."

He laughed as he walked in front of her, grabbing a few things and tossing them into the bottom of the cart. "So are you two...?" He asked but didn't ask out right. It was a little weird to be asking a friend if she was dating his brother. After all, Dean Winchester did _not_ date.

"Are we _what_?" She very nearly shrieked the question and almost ran into the backs of Sam's legs. Surely he wasn't asking her if she and Dean were...okay, that would just be way too awkward.

"Dating!" Sam started laughing as he moved quickly out of the way of the cart. "I meant dating. Not...well, certainly not that. What you do behind closed doors is your business."

"Oh." She was turning red again and could feel it. If Lucy could quit blushing around the two Winchester men it would be great. She shrugged a shoulder as they walked towards the grocery section. "Um, I don't know. We haven't really talked about it. I mean, you and I both know Dean's stance on dating."

"Yeah but...okay, this might sound lame and you can't tell Dean we've even had this conversation but I think he really likes you." He said as he glanced back at her. "I haven't seen him you know, act like he does when he's with you."

She paused as she pushed the cart, looking up at him. "How does he act around me?"

Sam shrugged easily, "Happy. He acts happy."

"Really?"

He smiled but nodded as he grabbed a few things that they both knew weren't on the list. But they would definitely need the junk food, if they could hide it from Dean some of the time. "Yeah. I mean, I've seen him laugh and smile and crack jokes, all that stuff but it's different when he's around you. Again I'm going to sound lame, but he lights up around you." He turned to face her, "And if you ever tell him I told you any of this just remember I know where you sleep."

She laughed but shook her head. "Don't worry, what you say to me stays between us. I guess I never noticed the way he acts though, it just sees like Dean."

It was really easy to talk to Sam. He listened carefully as they walked down aisles of things they didn't even need anything out of. They paused to look at the big screen TV's, just for the hell of it. And as he listened to her ramble on and on, he would take a moment before he would give an answer or opinion. Being that Sam was so easy to talk to, Lucy opened up more to him about Dean. Did she want more than the random flirtations and sleeping together/ It was probably quite obvious that she did. It was just pushing past that point of comfort, of putting herself out there more than she wanted to.

Sam just grinned at her, nudging her arm with his as they stood in line to check out. "You should just tell him how you feel. Be honest. Dean can be a dick at times, we both know that but I can tell he cares about you. He doesn't give other women the time of day anymore."

She smiled but ducked her head down to count the cash in her hand as they'd been trying to use credit cards as sparingly as possible, just in case. But Sam was right; she just needed to be honest with Dean. Even if that meant pushing herself out of her comfort zone a bit. "I will. I mean, I'll be honest with him. You know, you should really quit being so damn smart Sam." She told him, watching as he handed a few things to the cashier.

He laughed as he looked back at her. "Oh yeah, why's that?"

"You're making all the other guys pale in comparison." It was her turn to nudge him as she slid past him to pay the casher. But even she couldn't help but notice Sam turn a little bit red.

* * *

Dean sprawled out on the bed in her room later that night, content to flip through a women's magazine she'd insisted on buying while out with Sam. She came out of the bathroom dressed in one of Dean's t-shirts that she'd "borrowed", climbing up on the bed next to him. "Having fun?" She asked as she settled back against the pillows.

"Oh yeah. Not that I needed to know the top fifty ways to change my hair for the new year or anything but it's pretty interesting."

She laughed as she watched him flip through a couple of pages. It was time to get this over with and it was beginning to eat at her brain. And it wasn't like this was life or death; Lucy only wanted to know what was going on in his head. That wasn't so bad, right? She let out a sigh and rubbed at her face with one of her hands. "Hey Dean?"

"Yeah?" He answered, although he didn't look up from the magazine.

Lucy wasn't sure but she thought that made her all the more nervous. "Do you...I mean, _what _are we doing?"

He finally glanced at her over his shoulder before he asked, "What'd you mean?"

She sighed, mentally cursing the fact that all men seemed to be so dense sometimes. Moving down to where he was, she sat up next to him. "I mean, I think it's sort of obvious that we like each other. But...I guess I just wanted to know what it all is? Is it a fling type thing or...something else?" Her hands felt like they were shaking out of pure anxiety and nervousness. She was probably making no sense whatsoever. But she recognized the look on Dean's face. They'd reached a whole new level of conversation and Dean was shutting himself off, as if the whole conversation was over before it had a change to get started.

Closing the magazine, he sat up and raised one shoulder in a half shrug. "I don't really know Luce."

"What do you mean you don't know?" She was going to push him if she had to.

"I'm not sure what you want from me, out of all of this. I'm not exactly a prime candidate for boyfriend of the year."

Lucy frowned at that. Had she been reading him wrong this whole time? Maybe Sam had been wrong too; maybe he'd just imagined everything. She nodded and moved back up to the head of the bed. "Maybe you need to sleep in the other room tonight Dean."

It was his turn to frown at her, turning to face her. Truth of the matter was Dean was scared. It was just finding those words and saying them to her, which seemed to be the hardest part of all of this. It was much easier to act the part of the jerk and act like he didn't give a shit. But even the jerk could tell that she was pissed off and hurt. "Lucy, I..." The words lodged themselves in his throat and Dean wondered for a moment if he was going to suffocate right there in front of her. Every good thing seemed to get taken away from him, who was to say this would be any different? He knew that tomorrow was never guaranteed, they could all die tomorrow by any number of things. There was nothing guaranteed about this world they were living in. "I don't want to hurt you," He said finally.

Lucy stared at him for good hard minute. Moving to sit up again, she reached out and cupped his face in her hands. "You're not going to hurt me. I like to think I've been inside that head of yours. And I don't think that I've been imagining what you and I have."

Dean leaned into her touch out of instinct but nodded his head. "I just don't want to screw up." He'd done enough of that in his life; there was a point where he wanted to stop screwing up. There was a point when it all had to turn around.

"You'll only screw up if you don't give it a chance," She said softly.

Lucy was right and he knew it. There was something that stopped him though, something that told him that everything good usually got torn away from him. But there was something bigger that told him to let go already, giving him that extra little push that he needed. Dean deserved normal and happy just like everyone else seemed to have. Lucy came into all of this knowing what he did, who he was. He didn't have to be a fake version of himself around her; making up stories about his family and his job. With her it wasn't just about getting laid (although he could admit _that_ was quite the perk), it was that he wanted to know every little quirk and thing that made her Lucy. This time Dean decided to listen to the bigger part of his brain, the one pushing him in the direction of Lucy. It was time for him to take a chance finally.


	28. Chapter 28

AN: sorry for the delay in posting! I was finishing up a practicum near the end of the summer and getting thrown back into school for the semester. Also, spoiler warning for episode 21-"All Hell Breaks Loose (Part I)".

* * *

He was hungry, starving even. Of course that wasn't so unusual because Dean could probably eat his weight in food if given the opportunity. The road stretched out wide and dark in the middle of Iowa so it wasn't like there were too many places for them to stop. Lucy had grown quiet sometime in the hour before Dean realized he was hungry but she was most likely asleep in the backseat. But even Sam was quiet, staring out the window into the rainy darkness. Dean was sort of glad when a sign appeared, advertising an all night cafe. They could eat and then get back on the road. It felt like they'd been driving all day, only making a few necessary stops. They'd even switched off driving but Dean had done most of it, preferring to be behind the wheel of his own car.

Sam looked at him questioningly as he felt the car veer off towards the right. "What're you doing?"

"I'm starving man. Sign back there said there was a diner or something."

He nodded but smiled. "Yeah I could stand a burger maybe. Should we wake Lucy up?"

Dean gave a nod as he pulled the car into a parking spot. "Probably should. I know she hasn't eaten in awhile."

The cafe looked sort of out of place in the middle of practically nowhere. They could see people inside and there were a few cars parked out front so at least they hadn't stumbled upon some place that was boarded up or abandoned. Sam reached into the backseat and managed to poke Lucy in the arm. "Hey Luce...wake up. Lucy?"

She stirred and sat up after a moment, pushing back the hair that she was sure was going in every direction. "What? Where are we?"

"Food stop." Dean said with a smile as he handed some cash to Sam. "Want anything?"

She stretched as best she could in the car and nodded. The thought of food _was_ pretty appetizing. "Yeah I'll go in with you Sam."

Sam grumbled a bit under his breath as Dean started rattling off his order, climbing out of the car. "Hey bring me some pie!"

Lucy laughed as she crawled out of the backseat. "You can't possibly eat _that _much Dean."

He grinned at her as she closed the door, watching as she rolled her eyes and hurried to catch up to the long legs of his brother. Dean was unable to keep the smile off of his face as he heard Lucy laugh all the way to the door. He saw them go inside but his eyes drifted to his stereo. The station they'd been listening to began to fill with static, the lights of his car dimming and flickering. He reached out and tapped a finger against the face of the stereo. It took him a few moments to recognize all of the signs but collectively he knew what it meant. Looking in towards the cafe, he expected to see the two familiar figures inside. But there was nothing. Checking to make sure he was still armed, Dean hurried from the car and ran towards the diner. Opening the door, he stopped as he saw one of the cafe patrons slumped over a table, blood pouring out from his face. "Sam?" He called out the first name hesitantly. "Lucy?"

There was so much blood, so many bodies. He felt cold suddenly, panicked and worried all at once. He checked the rest of the diner, finding no sign of his brother or Lucy. With his heart pounding, Dean ran from the building, calling their names again. He was hoping to get a response, to find them. But he heard nothing besides the rain hitting the ground again. He was completely alone in the dark.

* * *

Lucy woke up feeling as if she'd just woken up from a dream she couldn't remember. The last thing she _did_ remember was walking into the small cafe behind Sam. She stood up, spinning around in a full circle, taking in the old western-looking town that would be a pretty damn good set for a scary movie. It looked deserted, empty, and run-down. Taking a few steps forward she looked around for any sign of life. It was quickly apparent that she was definitely not in the middle of Iowa where they had been before. What was most troubling was the fact that she was split from Dean and Sam. They'd been so permanent in her life for awhile, and now finding herself alone wasn't a comfortable feeling. Wrapping her arms around herself, Lucy started walking. Maybe she'd find either man around the next corner.

Sam woke up in a similar way, wondering what the hell kind of dream he was waking up from. He was sprawled out on what looked to be a pile of wood, looking around bewilderedly at the town he looked to be in. He sat up slowly, surprised to find that he was definitely not in Iowa and he was definitely alone. No sign of Lucy and no sign of Dean. That was especially worrisome. Standing up, he reached in his pocket for his cell phone. If he could call Dean then this would all be fixed! Of course that thought was short lived as his phone beeped, trying to find a signal and was unable to. With a slight grumble, Sam started walking. He needed to find out where exactly he was and find out how to get out. It wasn't good to be separated and not when it seemed to happen out of nowhere. He looked around, trying doors as he passed them but everything seemed to be locked or boarded up. Catching a glimpse of movement, he turned and saw Lucy. _Finally_, he was beginning to think he really was alone. "Lucy!"

She turned, obviously startled at hearing her name called in the quiet of everything else. But her face lit up when she saw Sam. Running towards him, she nearly launched herself at him out of pure happiness. Because now she wasn't alone wandering around some creepy abandoned town. "Oh thank god, where have you been? Where's Dean?" She pulled back from his warmth and shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket. It was cold and it was drizzling, again.

"I...don't really know where I've been. I just woke up here. And, I don't know where Dean is. I was kinda hoping he was with you?" He said as he started looking around again. Maybe if Lucy wandered out then Dean would too.

She shook her head as the two of them stood in the mud. "No. I woke up alone. What is going on?"

"I don't know." He motioned for her to follow him and together they started walking again, looking in the windows and trying doors when they came across them.

Sam and Lucy froze when they heard a board creak as if someone put weight on it. Sam turned and grabbed a piece of wood that would make an alright weapon for the moment and kept Lucy behind him as he inched forward. Stepping around the edge of the building he was prepared to swing but the both of them jumped as a man did the same, covering his head. "Andy!?" Sam exclaimed.

The other man straightened, blinking between the two of them. "Sam? What're you doing here?"

"I don't know." Sam replied, there was no point in pretending he knew what was going on.

"What am _I_ doing here? Where are we?"

"Uh...I don't know that either." Sam shrugged a shoulder.

Lucy peeked out from behind Sam, looking over Andy quickly. She had no idea how they knew each other but at least it was another person. Andy noticed her and looked up at Sam questioningly. "Who's that?"

"Lucy. A uh, friend of mine and my brother's. Lucy this is Andy, someone we met uh...a little before you joined us."

Andy nodded his head but immediately began to move, rocking back and forth. Sam shared a look with her but turned his attention back to the other man. "Look Andy, just calm down."

"I...can't calm down! I just woke up in freakin' Frontier Land."

Lucy snorted at that, it definitely was an accurate description. "Um, what's the last thing you remember?" She asked as she tried not to laugh outright at him.

"Honestly?" Andy said. "My fourth bong load. It was weird, all of a sudden there was this really intense smell. Like...uh..."

Sam straightened some as he asked. "Like sulphur?"

"How'd you know that?"

Lucy wanted to know the same thing since she didn't remember smelling anything like sulphur before her and Sam got separated from Dean. But she knew what sulphur meant and that made her a little colder than she already was. Sam was quiet before he muttered his brother's name. Andy lit up. "Your brother? Is he here?"

"We don't know where he is." Lucy said softly.

Sam started to say something but they all three jumped and froze when they heard a scream. Lucy turned around, looking back in the direction her and Sam had come from but she didn't see anything. The three of them hurried away from the porch they'd been standing on, walking through the mud in the direction the screaming had come from. "Help me! I'm locked in here!"

The voice was closer, locked in what looked to be a shed. "Okay okay, we're here. Just...hold on." Sam said as he looked for something to break the lock that held the door shut. He found a rock big and solid enough and started hammering away at the lock. Andy and Lucy stood back some as they watched the lock break. Opening the door, he paused for a second. "Ava?" Of all people that would be stuck in this place with them, he really hadn't expected to see her.

"Sam? Oh my god Sam!" She threw herself at him, holding onto him tightly.

"Guess you guys know each other." Andy said, glancing at Lucy who was still standing next to him.

"Uh...yeah." Sam replied. Lucy, admittedly, had heard Sam refer to Ava a few times but hadn't asked for details and the guys didn't seem very forthcoming with details about her.

"How did...I mean, how long...?" Ava was rattling off parts of questions at a rapid pace but seemed to calm down when Sam gripped her shoulders. "Ava, have you been in there this whole time?"

"Whole time? I just woke up in there a half hour ago."

Sam shook his head, "No you've been gone for almost five months. My brother, Lucy, and I have been looking for you everywhere."

"That's impossible because I just saw you two days ago."

Shaking his head again, he stooped down to see Ava better. "No, you didn't. I'm sorry."

Ava looked like she was about to cry again, shaking her head slowly. "But that...that makes no sense. Oh my god! My fiancé, Brady! If I've been missing that long then he must be freaking out."

He wasn't sure on how to answer her but luckily Sam didn't have to come up with one as Ava finally noticed Lucy and Andy. Andy waved and motioned between the two of them. "Uh hi, Andy and Lucy. Also freaking out."

"Sam what is going on?" Ava turned back to him.

That was another question he didn't have an answer for because he wasn't sure what was going on either. "I don't know. But I _do_ know what the four of us have in common." He was about to elaborate when they all turned hearing another voice calling out. Sam stepped towards Lucy before he said, "maybe more than four."

The four of them started running towards the voices with Sam calling out, "hello?" every few feet. Two more people made their appearance on a porch of a building with more cracked paint and wood. One was another male, dressed in Army fatigues and a female with blonde hair and dressed in mostly black. "Hey, you guys alright?" Sam asked.

The man nodded, glancing back at the blonde. "Think so."

"I'm Sam."

The guy in the army fatigues was named Jake and the blonde was Lilly. Sam asked if there were anymore people but Jake and Lilly had been alone since waking up. Lilly asked how they had even gotten there and again, Sam wasn't sure on how to answer. How could he when the answer most likely sounded insane?

"Let me take a wild guess. You're both 23, right?" Sam asked.

Jake and Lilly both nodded and Sam knew then that he was right. "Me, Ava and Andy all are too."

Lucy frowned because she seemed to be the only one _not_ 23 years old. Of course she had no idea what that meant, if anything. But they all did have something in common: their so-called abilities. She didn't volunteer her age, mostly because she didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to herself.

"Let me guess, it all started about a year ago when you found you could do things, things you didn't think were possible?" Sam rolled on, telling them how he and Lucy had visions, with Ava saying she did as well.

Andy raised a hand and said, "I can put thoughts into people's heads. Like make them do stuff. But don't worry, I don't think it works on you guys." He started up the steps towards Jake and Lilly. "But get this, I've been practicing, training my brain like meditation. So now it's not just thoughts I can...beam into people's minds but also images. Like anything I want like, bam! People see it. This one guy I know, _total_ dick, I used it on him and gay porn. All hours of the day, it was great! You should've seen the look on his face."

No one was really laughing although Lucy wanted to crack a smile. Anything to lighten the mood that had seemed to take over everything. Everything suddenly felt too heavy, too serious and all she wanted to do was get out of there. Andy shrugged off the fact that no one seemed as amused as him and came back to stand next to Lucy. She offered him an apologetic smile, he was only trying to help. Lilly stared down at them before she said anything. "So you go 'Simon says give me your wallet' and they do?" She looked at Sam and Lucy next. "And you have visions? That's great! I'd kill for something like that."

She looked either on the verge of tears or killing someone so Lucy tried to diffuse the situation. "Lilly, listen it's okay-"

Lilly cut her off before she could really get anything worthwhile out. "No, it's really not. I touch people and their hearts stop. I can barely leave my house. My life's not exactly improved. So screw you, I just want to go home."

She turned to stalk off in the direction her and Jake had come from but he tried to stop her. Lilly just turned back towards him, ready to tell him off or hit him, no one was really sure. Lucy sighed and stepped forward. "Hey look, whether we like it or not we're _here. _And we all have to deal with it."

Andy looked at her then, "so who brought us here?"

Biting her lip, she stole a look up at Sam. The thing was she was pretty sure who had brought them there, she just didn't want to voice it out loud. Sam faltered for a minute before he answered. "It's less of a who and more of a _what_."

"What does that mean?" Ava asked, her arms crossed in front of her.

"It's a...well, it's a demon." He figured he might as well be up front with Jake, Lilly, Ava and Andy. While Lucy knew what was going on, obviously, he didn't want to put it on her to try to explain it all to everyone else. It was complicated enough. But he had to tell them. If he didn't then they would all be majorly screwed.

* * *

Bobby and Dean stood on the side of a road, a map spread out between them. "This is it," Bobby said as he straightened out a stray corner. "All demonic signs and omens over the past month."

"Are you joking? There's nothing here." Dean replied.

The older man gave half a shrug. "Exactly."

"Well c'mon! There's gotta be something. What about the normal, low level stuff? You know, exorcisms, that kinda thing?"

"That's what I'm tellin' ya. There's nothing, it's completely quiet."

Dean growled under his breath, turning from the map. "Well how the hell are we supposed to look for Sam and Lucy, just close our eyes and point?" His phone rang before Bobby could answer. Glancing at the number, he half hoped it was going to pop up with either Sam or Lucy's name but, it didn't. Instead it was Ash at the Roadhouse. Dean had contacted him to help him find them but so far there was nothing. But Ash did tell him he had something that would help him find his brother and Lucy. Ash just refused to tell it to Dean over the phone, insisting that he hurry and get to the Roadhouse. Dean hung up the phone and glanced at Bobby. "I guess we're going to the Roadhouse. C'mon." Both men got into the Impala, leaving Bobby's truck on the side of the road. The engine roared to life as Dean turned the key in the ignition, pulling out onto the road.

* * *

Lucy had shoved her hands deep into her jacket pockets, trying to get herself warm. The air was cool and damp as it was and it seemed no matter what, she just could not get warm. Jake was pacing around the porch of the building they all stood on, taking in everything Sam and her and told them. "So, we're soldiers in a demon war to bring on the apocalypse?"

"Well, when you put it like _that_..." Lucy said wryly. Saying it like that made it sound even crazier than it was.

"And we've been picked?" He said.

"Yes." Sam and Lucy answered at the same time.

"Why us?"

"I'm not sure, okay?" Sam said. "But look, I just know-"

Ava spoke up from where she stood. "Sam, I'm sorry. Psychics and spoon bending are one thing but demons? Come on."

"We know it sounds crazy, believe me." Lucy pushed away from the railing she'd been leaning against.

"Crazy? It doesn't just sound it." Jake said.

"Yeah and I don't really care what you think." She'd gotten to be annoyed with Jake's questioning of every last thing. "If we're all gathered here together then that means it's starting, smartass. And we need to-"

He stepped over to her, getting closer than Lucy would've preferred. He towered over her much like Sam did, glaring down at her. "The only thing I _need _to do is stay away from wackjobs. I've heard enough and I'm better off on my own. And FYI? So are you." He brushed past her, nearly knocking her over as he stepped past her.

"Jake, hold on." Sam really didn't want them all fighting since he knew they would be safer in numbers. But Jake didn't listen and chose to ignore him, walking off in the direction of more buildings. Lucy rubbed at her forehead with one hand, looking at Sam.

"Sorry Sam."

He shook his head, "Not your fault."

They stood around for a few more seconds before they decided as a group to go after Jake. They were better off being together than wandering off alone. Sam was the first to get inside the schoolhouse where Jake had gone inside. Spotting a demon dressed as a little girl, he grabbed the nearest thing made of iron and swung at her as she advanced on Jake. Lucy grabbed the back of Andy's jacket and yanked him backwards out of the doorway as the rest of them watched as black smoke disappeared out into the air. Sam looked at Jake before saying, "And just so you know? _That _was a demon."

They left the schoolhouse, their shoes sinking into the mud as they walked back in the direction they had come from. Sam motioned to the bell sitting in the middle of everything, glancing down at Lucy and then at Jake. "I think I know where we are. I recognize that bell."

"You do?" She asked, staring at the bell. She'd done enough research and reading in her life but couldn't place the bell anywhere.

"Yeah. Cold Oak, South Dakota. A town so haunted that every single resident fled."

"Well good to know we're somewhere so historical." Ava said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

Lilly spoke up finally. "Why in the world would that demon or whatever put us here?"

"I'm uh, wondering the same thing." Sam admitted.

"You know what? It doesn't matter." She turned, already starting to walk away from the group. "Clearly the only sane thing to do is to get the hell out of dodge."

"Lilly, wait! The only way out is through miles of woods."

"It beats hanging out with demons!" She exclaimed but she at least had stopped walking.

"Lilly look, we don't know what's going on. And we don't even know how many of them are out there." Lucy said as she stepped towards the other woman.

"She's right." Jake said, "We should-"

"Don't say _we._ I'm not apart of _we_." Lilly spun on her heel, stalking towards Jake. "I have nothing in common with any of you."

"Okay, look I know-" Lucy put herself in between Jake and Lilly before another argument or fight could break out but the other woman interrupted her again.

"You don't know _anything_. I accidentally touched my girlfriend."

They all sort of froze, realizing what had happened to Lilly. Lucy felt all her anger and all her annoyance dissipate some. "I'm sorry. I really am."

Lilly swallowed hard but tried to play it all off. "Whatever. I feel like I'm in a nightmare and it just keeps getting worse and worse."

"You're not the only one that's lost people Lilly. You're _not_ alone in this, I promise." After all, Lucy had lost her parents, Sam had lost his dad not too awfully long ago and his mom before that. It was hard to imagine what it was like to not be able to touch people but Lilly wasn't alone in losing people, in being unable to help people or save them. "I have a...boyfriend out there somewhere, Sam's brother. And we don't know where he is, if he's alive or dead. We're all in bad shape but we're trying to tell you the best way out of this is to stick together. It's not going to do any of us any good to get separated now." She hadn't realized that she'd referred to Dean as her _boyfriend_ just because neither of them had discussed what exactly they were, just that they were more than friends and less than being something like..._married_. But she just ignored Sam's open mouthed look and hoped he wouldn't question her later.

She seemed to listen to Lucy, finally. Nodding her head a little bit she just said, "Fine."

Sam put them to work, searching for any kind of weapon that could help stave off the demons. Iron, silver and salt were on the list. Both him and Lucy had to explain what they were used for but at least none of them were looking at them like they had completely lost their minds. Andy mentioned food and Lucy realized just how hungry _she _was. Hopefully they could find something to eat before too long. Sadly, they were all too busy looking for weapons (and food) to notice that Lilly had gone off on her own.

* * *

Dean was anxious. Probably more than anxious, a little more on the nervous side. But Bobby didn't say anything as Dean tapped his fingers continuously on the steering wheel on the drive to the Roadhouse. He squinted out the window as they rolled up to what used to be the entrance to the place. Dean leaned forward, staring through the windshield as he looked at what used to be the Roadhouse. There was nothing left except smoldering, smoking wood. Part of the frame still stood but it looked ready to fall at any minute. He felt his heart drop into his stomach for the second time in as many days. "What the hell...?" He trailed off, not knowing exactly what else to say. Some place that had felt a little like home, a little like a safe haven, was gone. And it seemed everyone had been taken with it.

Dean pulled the car up to where the entrance used to be. Him and Bobby exchanged glances before he cut the engine and they each got out. The smell of burning wood filled their senses and they were careful not to step on anything still hot as they started looking around. For what? Dean wasn't sure. It didn't look like _anyone_ could've survived. It had burned quickly and it had burned hot. His stomach turned at the thought of everyone inside. Personal belongings littered the remains of the building and even Dean had to hurry and look away when he stumbled upon a charred body. Bobby was shaking his head as he looked around, mumbling a quiet "my god" as he searched.

"You see Ellen?" Dean asked. He knew the answer, especially if she'd been inside.

Bobby was quiet as he looked, searching for a sign. But he finally shook his head again. "No. Or Ash either."

Dean spotted something he recognized and stepped over the skeleton of a chair, reaching down to get a better look at a watch. "Aw Ash...damnit!"

* * *

They were searching a house for anything to be used as a weapon. Andy and Lucy had wandered off, eventually finding enough salt that would last them awhile. Andy proudly displayed it as Sam, Jake and Ava wandered back into the main room. But it was then that they noticed Lilly was missing. Ava and Sam both called her name but there was nothing. Lucy frowned, looking around to make sure the blonde wasn't just hiding out in one of the other rooms. They all froze as they heard the same childish laughing that had been heard when Jake had wandered off into the schoolhouse. Walking out onto the front porch, all of their jaws dropped once they saw the windmill. Lilly hung from a rope, swinging slightly back and forth. Lucy felt her stomach drop. "Oh my god..."

"Okay that's...that's...we need to get out of here!" Ava said hurriedly.

Andy nodded, "I uh second that motion."

"I don't think that's an option."

"What'd you mean! She's dead Jake!" Ava turned to look at the man in the army fatigues.

"She was trying to leave." Lucy turned to face them all. "It's keeping us here for a reason. It went after Jake when he tried to leave."

"The demon's not going to make it that easy for us to leave. We've got to gear up for the next attack." Sam said, unable to look away from Lilly.

Jake offered to find something to get her down with, none of them wanted to leave Lilly where she was. Lucy watched as Ava disappeared back into the house, choosing to stick close to Andy and Sam. "You know, I would give just about anything to have Dean here to help out."

Lucy cracked a smile in Sam's direction. "He would definitely have a plan and be ready to set it into action."

"And I'd give my arm for a working phone." He said as he glanced around. The rain was starting up again, just another thing to add to the misery of the entire place.

Andy lit up after a moment. "You know, you may not need one. I've never tried it long distance before but do you have anything of Dean's on you? Like, something he touched?"

Lucy shook her head but Sam produced a receipt from one of the stops they'd made on the way through Iowa. "Would that work?"

He nodded and took it from him. "Yeah." Eyeing the signature, he looked up at Sam. "Does that say D. Hasselhoff?"

"Yeah that's Dean's signature. It's uh...hard to explain."

Lucy snorted, wrapping her arms around herself. "Yeah, really hard to explain. Will that work though?"

"Yeah, it should." He looked back down at the piece of paper in his hand.

* * *

Bobby and Dean had searched everywhere within the ruins of the Roadhouse. Nothing and no one was left. "What did Ash know?" Dean grumbled as they stepped away from the still smoking ashes. "We got no way of knowing where Ellen is, or if she's even alive. We have no clue what Ash was going to tell us, now how in the hell are we going to find Sam and Lucy?"

Bobby looked at him sternly. "We're going to find them." He knew it, deep down they were going to find them. It was just going to take longer than they'd anticipated. He just had to keep telling himself and Dean that.

Dean looked like he was about to answer but doubled over as a sharp pain shot through his head. He could hear Bobby saying his name but it sounded far away and he couldn't really answer. He felt dizzy and lightheaded and thought for a moment he might pass out. Shaking his head, he started to straighten up when another pain shot through his head. This time he could see something, a flash of a bell.

"What was that?" Bobby asked as Dean finally managed to stand straight up.

"I don't know, a headache?

He stared at the younger man hard as he asked, "Do you get headaches like that a lot?"

Dean shook his head, "No. Must be the stress or something. But I could've sworn I saw something..."

"What'd you mean? Like a vision? Like what Sam gets?" It didn't seem all that out of the ordinary considering Sam had visions apparently. Maybe Dean had the same thing.

"What? No."

"Well I'm just saying."

"C'mon, I'm not some psychic." Dean started to say something else but another pain shot through his head, this time nearly bringing him to his knees. He clutched at his head as Bobby ran around the car towards him, just in case he fell.

"Dean? Dean, are you with me?" Bobby again sounded far away, like he was in a tunnel or something. But the pain was gone as he felt the older man's hand on his shoulder. Dean nodded his head as he leaned his forehead against the car's hood. "Yeah. I think so. I saw Sam. I saw him Bobby."

"So it was a vision?"

"Yeah." Dean stood up fully, thankful when he didn't feel lightheaded anymore. "I don't know how but yeah. But you know, _that_ was about as much fun as getting kicked in the jewels."

"What else did you see?" Bobby pressed on, wanting to find out as much information as he could before it was all forgotten about.

"Uh...there was a bell."

"What kind of bell?"

He looked at him for a moment as he tried to think of what it had looked like. But it had been so quick that Dean wasn't sure what he'd seen. "Uh...it was a uh, big bell? A big bell. With some kind of engraving on it. I don't know."

"Was it a tree, like an oak tree?"

"Yeah. Exactly." How Bobby knew what the hell he was talking about, he would never know.

Bobby nodded his head, "I know exactly where Sam and Lucy are."

* * *

Lucy had laid enough salt lines in her life. She was beginning to wonder if there would ever be a time where she didn't have to. Where salt could be used for _normal_ household purposes. People back home must have thought she was crazy for buying so much salt in bulk or that she was really into raising her sodium levels. The thought brought a brief smile to her face as she laid another line down near a window in the house they were holed up in. It would hopefully keep the weaker demon or demons out. It was dark outside although she had seen a couple of flashes of lightning and heard more than a few claps of thunder. It had made her shudder each time it thundered, mostly thanks to the fact that Lucy didn't really like storms all that much. She felt cold to the bone even though she still wore her jacket. Sam had offered her his more than once, seeing her shudder just after a bolt of lightning illuminated the whole room. She'd declined though, there was no point in him freezing just so she could be semi-warm.

She thought it would be better if it was at least light out. In the dark it was harder to see things. They had found a few candles lying around and eventually were able to light them but all it did was cast an eerie glow around the main room they were all in. Lucy eventually took a chair and closed her eyes for a moment, hearing Sam and Ava talking lowly in the background. She was hungry and she was tired. Even though she knew it wasn't best to fall asleep, she figured if anything happened then she would wake up.

When she opened her eyes after what felt like a few seconds, she was surprised to find herself face to face with the yellow-eyed demon. With a gasp, she stood quickly and turned around, looking for Sam or Jake or even Andy and Ava. But there was no one. He grinned at her and took a step forward, laughing when Lucy stepped back and flinched as her back hit the wall.

"Hello Lucy."

"What are you-where is everyone!"

"Should we start with the first question or move on to the second one?" He was closer to her now, the grin still plastered on his face.

She shrank back against the wall, afraid that at any minute he was going to rip her heart out of her chest just for the fun of it. "Why are you doing this to us?"

"Us? You weren't really supposed to be apart of the plan." He shrugged a shoulder, "but your precious father got a _little_ too close for comfort. He was going to tell on me. And I couldn't have that."

"So you killed them!?"

He sighed and tried to look sympathetic but it didn't last long before he just laughed. "Your mother just got in the way and I had to get rid of her too."

"So why me then? And where's Dean?"

"Oh now, don't worry about your little boyfriend. You should be worrying about your own well being Lucy. But why did I pick you? Because you were convenient. And I figured the Winchester's would come to your rescue after the untimely death of your parents. Oh! And it looks like I was right. Again."

She frowned, looking around the room. She wanted to yell for Sam but she knew it would be futile. It was a dream she couldn't wake up from. "Why are we all here then?"

"I need a leader for my army. One of _you_ are going to be it. My money was on Sam but I know how strong you are. Stronger than I ever gave you credit for." He was pacing in front of her now, looking down at the floor as he walked.

"What army?"

"Oh I'll get them soon enough. But this is a competition Lucy. If you want to survive then you'd better start fighting. I'd take either Sam or you. Of course that would put Dean in quite the pickle, now wouldn't it?"

"You leave him out of this!" She growled, hating to even hear either one of their names come out of the mouth of the thing that had taken so much from them.

He stopped right in front of her, leaning in close enough so she could smell the sulphur. "Don't backtalk me little girl because I could snuff you out in a second."

She nodded just to get him out of her face, watching wide-eyed as he started to pace again.

He smiled, shaking his head as he leaned back in suddenly, "You'd better wake up now Lucy. You've been asleep for quite some time."

And just like that she was startled out of the worst dream she'd ever had. Her eyes shot open and she was gasping for air as she came around. Sam was at her side in an instant, pulling her back to look at her. "Lucy? Lucy what's wrong? Are you okay?"

She managed to nod and pushed him out of her face. She could swear she could still smell the sulphur. "Yeah. I'm fine...I'm fine Sam. Really."

He nodded and it was then that Lucy noticed the completely scared look on his face. Something told her that he'd experienced something along the same line as she had.


	29. Chapter 29

_AN: Again, spoilers for episode 21- All Hell Breaks Loose (Part I) and also spoilers for episode 22- All Hell Breaks Loose (Part II)_

* * *

Jake and Andy were standing on the other side of Sam, looking just as worried as he did. Lucy looked around and noticed that Ava was missing. "Where is she?"

Jake shook his head, "Don't know. She just disappeared."

She stood and pushed her hair out of her face. Somehow it'd fallen out of the messy ponytail she'd pulled it into but it was probably because she'd been thrashing around while dreaming or whatever. It was almost embarrassing but she didn't really have the time to worry much about it. Lucy, Jake and Sam left the house where they were and went outside. "I'll take the barn and the hotel. You two take the houses?" Jake said.

Sam and her both nodded and they agreed to meet back in ten minutes. The two of them started off in the direction of some of the houses. It was probably a good thing she wasn't asked to go off alone. She stayed close to Sam, nearly running to keep up with his long strides. "Did you have a uh...dream?" She asked in a hushed voice although she wasn't sure who or what could hear her.

"Yeah. I'm guessing you did too?" He glanced down at her as they reached the first house.

She nodded and went up the steps with him right behind her. She kicked the door open and let him go inside first. "Was it...about a competition?"

"Yeah. Look, don't worry. Nothing is going to happen. I'm going to get us out of here." He said as they checked the house, alternately calling out for Ava.

"I just don't understand. I'm not even supposed to be here though, it said my dad knew. He knew and was going to rat it out, probably to your dad." She sighed as they exited the house.

Sam was about to answer her when they heard Ava's scream. Both of them started to run back towards their makeshift headquarters, coming close to busting the door down as they got inside. "Ava, what's-" Lucy stopped in her tracks when she saw Andy's body, broken and bloody on the floor. "Oh my god." She felt her stomach make another turn and turned around to face the open doorway. "Oh good _god_ what happened?!"

"Sam! I just found him like this!" Ava was in tears, obviously distraught. Lucy herself was nearly in tears as she moved further into the room, standing next to Sam.

"What happened?" He asked as he blocked Lucy's view as much as possible.

"I don't know!"

"How'd that thing get in?" Lucy asked as she turned away from what was left of Andy and looked around at the windows and other doorways. They'd laid salt lines everywhere; there was no possible way anything could get in.

"Where were you?" Sam was asking her as he looked around as well.

Ava was shaking, still in tears but managed to answer. "I just went to get some water from the well. I was only gone maybe two minutes."

"You shouldn't have gone outside. We need to stay together."

It was then that Lucy noticed the broken salt line on the window. "Hey, who did that?" She asked as she motioned towards it.

Ava looked at Lucy before she shrugged. "I don't know, maybe Andy did it?"

"Andy wouldn't do that." Sam said, almost interrupting her. "That line wasn't broken when we left."

"What!" Ava exclaimed as she looked between the two of them. "You don't think I-"

"Let me tell you what I think. Five months. You're the only one with all that time. And that headache you got earlier? Right when the demon got Lilly." He was advancing on her slowly while Lucy stayed close to the back of the room. It was all strangely starting to make sense.

Ava still had a few tears running down her cheeks but was backing up as Sam advanced. "What are you trying to say?"

"What happened to you?"

"Nothing!"

The two of them stared hard at her and watched as Ava finally sighed as if they'd just ruined a huge surprise and wiped at her eyes. She laughed for a moment before she said, "I had you going for a moment there, didn't I? I've been here a long time. And not alone either. People just kept showing up, children like us. Batches of three or four at a time."

"You killed them?" Lucy asked as she stepped closer to Sam. "All of them?"

She smirked a bit as she watched the other woman. "I'm the undefeated heavy weight champ." She said like it was something to really be proud of.

"Oh my god..."

"I don't think God has much to do with it, sorry Lucy."

Sam shook his head, watching her with disgust. "How could you?"

"I had no choice. It's me or them. And you know, after awhile it was easy. It was even kinda fun! I just stopped fighting it."

"Fighting what?"

Ava looked annoyed, "Who we are Sam. If you just quit your hand wringing and open yourself up, you have no idea what you can do! The learning curve is so fast, it's crazy. The switches that just flip in your brain." She laughed as she looked at the two of them. "I can't believe I just started out having dreams. Do you know what I can do now?"

"Control demons." Sam said matter of factly.

"Well, you are quick on the draw." She rubbed at her temples with both hands, looking as if she was in fact suffering from a headache.

Lucy turned in time to see the black smoke starting to come through the windowsill where the salt line had been broken. With a gasp she pressed herself up against Sam's side to put as much distance between her and the demon was possible. Ava looked at them, "Sorry you two. It's over."

Both of them turned to face the demon but Sam looked back when he heard a snap. Lucy looked in time to see Ava fall to the floor, her neck twisted at an awfully odd angle. Jake was standing in the doorway, the grim look back on his face. The black smoke disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

The three of them were silent as they gathered what few belongings they all had and hurried outside. "I think we can get out of here now." Sam said more so to Lucy as she hurried to catch up to the two men. There was no way she was going to get left behind for some other random demon to come slinking out of the darkness.

"What about that demon thing?" Jake asked.

"No, Ava was summoning it. Controlling it really. It shouldn't come back now that she's dead. We gotta go." Sam replied.

Lucy nodded in agreement. "Seriously we need to get out of here _now_." The faster they moved, the faster they could get home and the faster they could get out of the rain. Mostly she just wanted somewhere warm to lay down for a good couple of days.

"Not we." Jake said suddenly causing them to all stop in their tracks. "Only one of us is getting out of here. Now I'm sorry, but I...I had a vision. That yellow-eyed demon or whatever you said it was, he told me how it was."

It was obvious that it wasn't just Sam and Lucy that the yellow-eyed demon had tried to get to, it had gone for Jake too. Sam shook his head, "Jake look you can't listen to that thing."

"Sam he's not letting _us _go. Only one. Now if we don't play along he'll kill all three of us."

"No he won't!" Lucy shook her head, putting herself in the middle of the two men. "We're safer in numbers Jake. You can't listen to him. He's doing this for his own amusement. We need to get out of here now."

Jake sighed as he looked down at her. "Look, I like you. I really do. You and Sam seem like nice people. But do the math here, what good's it do for all three of us to die? Now I can get out of here, get close enough to the demon and kill him. I really can."

"Yeah and you come with us and we can kill him together." Sam suggested. There was no way he was going to just give up and die and there was no way he was going to put Lucy in that position either. Part of him wanted to tell her to run, to get out of there as quickly as she could. If she could get to safety and he was killed? At least one of them would make it out alive. But on the other hand, he wasn't going down without a fight.

Jake seemed to ponder it for a moment before he asked. "How do I know you two won't turn on me?"

"We won't." Lucy answered.

"I don't know that."

"Okay, look." Sam brushed past Lucy, effectively putting her out of harm's way as he reached into the waistband of his jeans for the knife he'd found earlier in the day. He laid it down in the dirt before he stood back up, watching the other man carefully. "Just come with us Jake. It's safer and better this way. Don't do this. Don't give in to what it wants."

Jake nodded after he thought about it for a minute, laying down the piece of iron he'd been holding onto for most of the time. Lucy released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She wanted to get out of there before anything else happened. Before Lucy could even blink, she felt herself flying through the air. She landed hard about fifteen feet away, her whole body bouncing off the ground. She heard Sam call her name but could only watch as he did the same thing, landing too far from her for her to even attempt to reach him. Her whole body was screaming in agony and she had to wonder if her whole body was broken. Jake stalked towards her and it only took a few seconds for Lucy to get her bearings enough to move.

Unfortunately her body felt like it was in slow motion as she tried to scramble backwards, wanting to put more distance between her and the man who could probably break her entire body with his pinky. She'd forgotten that he had superhuman strength. Shielding her head with her arms, she waited for the blow but was surprised when it didn't come. Opening her eyes she could see Sam fighting with him. Jake was too much though, too strong and too fast even for someone as experienced as Sam. She struggled to her knees first, her head swimming so fast she knew she was on the verge of passing out. She grimaced when she heard a pop too loud and could see Sam holding onto his shoulder. With all the energy she didn't have, Lucy struggled to her feet and stumbled a few steps forward. If she could just get to the knife, that was her goal. Jake saw her and moved towards her, throwing her backwards again before turning back to Sam. Lucy landed not too far from where she'd landed the first time. She fought to stay conscious, to get to her feet again but she was too hurt. Her world went black before she could think of anything else.

Sam wanted to run to Lucy, to make sure she was okay but he wanted to get Jake down first. He felt stupid for even thinking that Jake would listen to him, it had been a stupid idea to try to convince the other man to come with them. It was sort of hard to think as his head throbbed and his body ached. His shoulder had been dislocated so he was pretty much down to using one hand to fight off Jake. Sam stumbled into a fence and stood as quickly as he could with his shoulder screaming at him. Jake was moving towards him, swinging a fist out towards him. Sam moved at the last minute and watched as Jake punched the fence, his arm getting stuck in the hole it made. Sam punched him with his good hand, kneeing him to knock him over onto the ground. He kicked Jake through the rest of the fence, watching as the other man sprawled out in the mud, bleeding and bruised and hopefully broken. Sam stepped over the broken fence and walked past Jake to pick up the piece of iron they'd found earlier. He gripped it in his good hand and turned back to Jake. He was just getting up as Sam turned, knocking him backwards into the mud with the weapon. Jake looked to be unconscious as Sam prepared to make the fatal blow but something stopped him and he just dropped it into the dirt.

"Sam!"

He turned, hearing the familiar voice of his brother calling his name. He knew he had to get Dean to help him with Lucy, she hadn't moved since the second blow and she had to be seriously hurt for her not to be getting up. He stumbled through the mud as it began to rain again, finally seeing Dean and Bobby as they came out of the darkness. "Dean!"

"Sam! Look out!" Both men were starting to run as Jake came up behind Sam, stabbing him in the back with the knife Sam had held earlier. Sam choked out a cry but fell to his knees in the mud as the knife was twisted and pulled out.

"No!" Dean sprinted forward and landed in the mud in front of Sam, catching him as his body lurched forward. "Sam! Sam? Hey. Hey let me look at you." His arms were holding him up, one reaching around to the wound. His heart sank and his stomach twisted when Dean saw the amount of blood on his hand. Instead of freaking out, like he really wanted to, he pulled back to look at Sam. "Hey, hey look it's not even that bad. It's not that bad." Sam's eyes were unfocused and closing so Dean shook him, yelling his name. "Sam! Sammy! Hey, listen to me. We're gonna patch you up. Okay? You're gonna be good as new." Sam's head lolled forward but Dean wasn't giving up, even as the light in Sam's eyes was drifting away. "Hey, hey. I'm gonna take care of you, okay? I got you. That's my job right? Watch after my pain in the ass little brother. Sam. Sam! Sammy!" He was gone and Dean had never felt more helpless. "No...no no. No!" He hugged him close and squeezed his eyes shut tightly.

Bobby had chased Jake but had given up as the other man disappeared into the woods. He walked back slowly, looking around for any sign of Lucy. He saw her sitting up slowly, not all that far from where Dean and Sam were. Hurrying over, he set his gun down in the mud as he bent down towards her. "Hey, hey let me get a look at you." His hands were as gentle as they could be as he looked her over, checking to make sure she had no open wounds or broken bones.

Her eyes were a little hazy and unfocused, probably a concussion. "Where's Sam? Bobby, where is he?" She was getting frantic, trying to get to her feet.

Bobby shook his head as he lifted her. "Lucy hang on. He's...pretty hurt. We're gonna get you out of here, get you checked out."

Her eyes slipped closed as he grabbed his gun and started towards Dean. "Dean...okay?" She mumbled.

"I think so. Just hang on Lucy."

It was the last thing she heard as she slipped into unconsciousness again.

* * *

She laid there, staring at the ceiling. Bobby's hushed words and Dean's monosyllabic answers were all she could hear. But it had been that way for the past couple of days. Lucy just didn't have the energy to move. Her body felt like it weighed a ton and she just didn't want to have to look at Dean's lost look again. Bobby had told her what happened as he checked her over for broken bones but she'd been pretty lucky to only be bruised. Knowing that Sam was lying in the next room and that he wasn't going to get up again was something she didn't really know how to deal with.

She moved slowly, feeling her back pull and groan as she moved from the spot she'd been in for some period of time. Her head had quit doing the spinning thing it'd done that first day but she still felt a little unsteady on her feet. She walked out to the main room to find Dean staring out the window. He turned some when he heard her moving around and usually he would smile and say some smartass remark. But there was nothing but the same lost, dark look that he'd had for the past couple of days. "Where's Bobby?" She asked, jumping a little at how loud her voice seemed.

"I don't know." He turned to look back at the window.

Well, at least that was better than the one word answers she'd been getting for quite sometime. She just nodded and looked around, wanting to find something to do or...to say. But there was nothing really she could say or do. Dean had shut both her and Bobby out. And there would be no bringing him out unless Sam just miraculously woke up. "Do you...I mean, is my bag still in the car?" She asked, really wanting to change her clothes. She had yet to really attempt to shower but she wasn't even sure if the small cabin they were in had any kind of water pressure.

His eyes flickered to hers and he shook his head. "Brought your bag inside with me." He pointed across the room behind her. She nodded and went to pick it up.

"I'm going to try to clean up some. Do you...is there anything you need?" It was probably the lamest question she could ask but he just shook his head again. His gaze moved from her to where his brother was lying. Lucy snuck a glance but couldn't really bear to look at Sam. Not like that. With a sigh, Lucy turned and went back into the room she'd been in before. It was smaller, probably no bigger than a closet. But it would do for now, until there was a plan. Throwing the bag onto the floor, she knelt down to dig through it. Her clothes had been thrown in haphazardly, most were wrinkled and bunched up. Of course there wasn't much she could do about it now. And at least she had some clean clothes. Grabbing a t-shirt, she stood before stripping off the shirt she had been wearing. It went back into the bag of wrinkled clothing before she pulled on the clean shirt. Jeans followed the same path and she was starting to feel just a little bit better.

"Dean?"

She turned as she heard the front door open. Poking her head into the main room she spotted Bobby coming inside, a bucket of fried chicken and a six pack of beer in his hands. "I brought you this back," He was saying as he closed the door behind him, setting the things down.

"No thanks. I'm fine," was Dean's response. Lucy was sort of surprised to see he had moved, standing in the doorway to the room where Sam was lying.

She exited her own little room and smiled weakly at Bobby. The older man looked at a loss of what to do. "You should eat something Dean." She said softly, standing next to Bobby. Funny how neither of them knew what to do to help him. They were completely helpless.

"I said I'm _fine_." He snapped, turning around to face the two of them. Of course the two of them had no idea what he was going through, what he was trying not to believe but trying to deal with all at the same time. He walked towards the table and reached out, snatching up the bottle of beer he'd been nursing for quite some time. Getting drunk wouldn't help matters but it seemed to at least numb the pain a little bit.

Bobby sighed just loud enough for her to hear as he watched Dean sit back down at the table. "Dean...I hate to bring this up, I really do, but don't you think that maybe it's time we bury Sam?"

She flinched just at the words _bury Sam_. It made it all seem too real suddenly. Her chest tightened, especially hard when Dean turned a cold stare onto Bobby. "No." He answered after a moment of stony silence.

"Well...we could maybe..."

"What? Torch his corpse?" Dean shook his head, "Not yet."

Bobby let out another sigh as he leaned down to see him better. "I want you to come with me."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Dean, please."

"Would you cut me some slack?"

"I just don't think you should be alone."

Lucy put her hand on Bobby's arm, "He won't be if I stay with him."

Dean was shaking his head again. "No. You go with him. I'm fine."

Bobby straightened up, still staring at Dean. "I have to admit I could use your help. Something big is going down. End of the world big."

"Then let it end!" He snapped loudly, narrowing his eyes at the both of them.

"Dean, you don't mean that." He said. There was really no way that Dean Winchester could just not care about the job anymore. Lucy took a couple of steps backwards as Dean darted up from the chair, looking as if he was going to punch either one of them just for being in his way.

Dean looked between the two of them but stepped right into Bobby's face. "Oh, you don't think so? You don't think I've given enough? You don't think I've paid enough? I'm done with it. All of it. And if you know what's good for you, you'll take Lucy and get out of here."

"Dean-" She started but was cut off by a hard glare in her direction.

Swallowing hard, she looked up at Bobby who was still watching him as he walked back to the table, putting both of his hands on the back of the chair. "You'll know where I'll be. I'll wait out front Lucy."

Both of them were quiet and didn't move until Bobby had left. Then Lucy went to grab her things from the other room. She was zipping up the bag when she felt him slide up behind her. It was quick but suddenly his arms had wrapped their way around her waist tightly and he was burying his face into her neck. It took some doing on her part but she was finally able to turn to face him, sliding her fingers through his hair. She could've sworn that he was shaking but she knew he wasn't crying. He'd most likely cried himself out. "Dean I can stay with you," She said softly as she rested her hands on the back of his neck.

Dean shook his head as he pulled back, avoiding her eyes. "No. Go with Bobby. I need to do this on my own."

"But Dean..."

"Just go!" He was angry again, very nearly yelling at her. It was enough to cause her to jump a little bit as Dean didn't raise his voice like _that _too often when it came to her or Sam. His eyes softened as he stepped back, rubbing a hand over his face. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I just...just go, please Lucy?"

All she wanted to do was help him but he was set on doing this on his own. He didn't like having people help him, especially not when it came to something personal like this. She nodded, agreeing against her better judgment. Reaching up, Lucy touched his cheek gently. It caused him to finally look at her and she almost couldn't look back at him from all the pain and sadness just in his eyes. "You know where I'll be. Call me and I'll come right back. Okay?"

He turned his head, pressing a soft kiss against the palm of her hand. Pulling back, she looked back at him one last time before she left and walked out front to meet Bobby.

* * *

She was quiet on the drive to Bobby's but so was he. Neither was sure what to say. Neither of them had wanted to leave Dean alone, there really was no telling what he would do but he was also stubborn enough to not ask for either of their help. Lucy had been looking out the window, watching as rain slipped down the windows. With a sigh, she turned and stretched her legs out in front of her as much as she could in the cab of the truck. They'd been on the road for almost an hour and a half, she was already starting to feel sore." You think he'll be okay?" She asked finally.

"I don't know." He answered after a long moment. "I'm not in his head, but I know he's dealing with a lot right now. He's...lost a lot but you knew that."

She nodded, chewing on her bottom lip. "I know. I can't...I can't even imagine." Sighing, she rubbed a hand over her face. "I just don't like the way he's acting."

"I'm not too comfortable leaving him alone but you know how he is. Stubborn as a damn mule." Bobby shook his head as he kept his eyes on the road. "He'll come around soon. I hope."

She just nodded, growing quiet as the truck kept on in the same direction. Lucy probably fell asleep not too long after that because when she opened her eyes next, they were at Bobby's. He opened the door for her and took her bag, reaching out to help her down from the cab. "Thanks," She said softly once she was on the ground. He just gave her a small smile and led her up the front steps.

"You know where everything is. I figured you'd want to grab a shower or something?"

Lucy sighed but nodded, a shower sounded excellent right then. She was tired and sore and really wanted to lay down, although she wasn't sure she could sleep. "Yeah I'll head upstairs. Yell if you need me?"

"Sure thing." The two of them walked inside and Bobby watched as Lucy headed for the stairs. Once she had disappeared, he let out a long breath. He wasn't sure if Dean would ever come around. He'd taken a major blow, as had Lucy. Maybe she was dealing with it in her own way but he just wished they could get Dean. Things were about to hit the fan and he didn't know when or where or _anything_. It would help to have Dean working with them but Bobby knew deep down that he wouldn't be able to function correctly, wouldn't be able to think clearly.

* * *

The silence was pretty deafening once Bobby and Lucy had gone. Part of him had almost asked Lucy to stay but he knew he couldn't. This was his to figure out. It had been dark for some time, only making everything darker and quieter. He'd been sitting next to same for awhile now, staring and...doing nothing. "You know when we were little? You couldn't have been more than five, you just started asking questions." It was something he didn't often think or talk about. Dean had been a kid himself and having to explain everything to a kid who asked '_why?'_ to everything had been hard, too difficult for even their father to deal with. "How come we didn't have a mom? Why did we always have to move around? Where'd dad go? He'd take off days at a time. I remember I begged you, '_quit asking Sammy. You don't wanna know_.' I just wanted you to be a kid, just for a little while longer. I always tried to protect you, keep you safe. Dad didn't even have to tell me. It was always just my responsibility, you know? It's like I had one job, I had one job." His voice had a catch to it and he hated that, he hated that he was about to start crying again. "And...I screwed it up. I blew it. And...and for that, I'm sorry." He rubbed at his face with one hand, willing himself to stop the crying. Dean Winchester did _not_ cry. Sitting up straighter he looked back to where his brother was lying, a hurt smile on his face for a fleeting moment. "But I guess that's what I do. I let down the people I love. I let dad down, I'm sure I'll let Lucy down if she sticks around long enough. But I guess I'm just supposed to let you down too, huh? How can I? How am I supposed to live with that? What am I supposed to do?"

The sadness hanging heavy in his body left as suddenly as it had come, but instead the anger came back. With a yell and a kick to the chair he'd been sitting in, he knew he was he was going to do. He knew what he _had_ to do. Turning around, he went to find his keys and grabbed them, shoving a few other necessities into his pocket before he left, slamming the door behind him. A moment later, his tires were spinning in the mud and he was driving away from the cabin.

* * *

Somehow Lucy had managed to sleep for a few uninterrupted hours. It wasn't the best sleep she'd ever had but she felt a little better once she woke up, glad to see that it wasn't raining and didn't look so dreary outside. Bobby put her to work once she was downstairs, setting her up at the table in the kitchen with a bunch of maps and books. She didn't know what they were looking for and neither did he really but he had enough stuff that hopefully the two of them could get a plan together.

She sighed as she heard the knock on the door, glancing up to watch Bobby go towards it. Her eyes felt like they were crossing and she was getting a crick in her neck from bending over the table to draw on the map. Grumbling, she erased a line she had just drawn, looking up Bobby opened the door. Her eyes widened when she heard two distinct voices. One was Dean's...but the other was Sam's? Lucy stood up so quickly that the chair toppled backwards, almost falling all the way over. She just stared as Sam and Dean walked inside. Sam looked...well, Sam looked like himself.

His face lit up when he saw Lucy and came towards her. A small part of her wondered if he was some weird spirit she'd never heard of but knew it wasn't true as he bent down to hug her tightly. "I'm so glad you're okay Luce."

She closed her eyes and hugged him back, her hands slipping down over his back where the wound had been. She'd gotten a glimpse at it in her slightly dizzy state and knew it had been bad, too deep for one of them to even try to fix. But he seemed fine. She pulled back, forcing a smile. "Me too. And I'm glad to see you're feeling better. You uh...had us worried there."

"Yeah, good as new." Was his reply.

"Yeah, Sam's feeling better. And we're back in it now, so what do you know?" Dean asked as he walked further into the house. He was avoiding her look, her stare of wonderment. What the hell had he done?

Bobby was staring in disbelief at Dean as well but just led them over to where Lucy had been working. "Well we found something. I'm not sure what the hell it means, to be honest."

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"Demonic omens," Lucy answered. It had been the only thing she could really make sense of on the map. "Cattle deaths, lightning storms. They seem to have skyrocketed out of nowhere." She grabbed the map and turned it towards Sam. Her handwriting was all over it with lines and other marks she'd been making since Bobby put her to work. "All around in here," She sad pointing to an area around the state of Wyoming. "Except for one place, which I thought was totally weird. Southern Wyoming."

"Wyoming?" It was the first thing Dean had said to her since they'd arrived.

Bobby nodded, "Yeah. That one area is totally clean. It's almost as if the demons are surrounding it."

"But you haven't figured out why?"

Lucy sighed with a shake of her head. "No. And really, I've been staring at it so long that my eyes are beginning to cross. Bobby has too."

Bobby saw an opportunity to get Dean alone, to find out what happened. Looking at Sam, he motioned towards the map. "Sam, would you take a look? Maybe you can catch something Lucy and I couldn't."

"Yeah sure." He replied. He was eager to help and figure it all out.

Lucy saw the look Bobby was giving her and shook her head minutely. Forcing another smile, she put her hand on Sam's shoulder and moved around him. "Want something to drink? We've got coffee and well...beer?"

"Uh, coffee for now." He said as he sat down.

"C'mon Dean. I've got some more books in the truck." It wasn't exactly up for discussion so Dean really had no choice but to follow the older man outside. He could feel Lucy's eyes burning holes into his back. He didn't want her to find out but knew he wouldn't be able to keep it a secret, especially not when both her and Bobby knew something wasn't right.

She made some noise in the kitchen and eventually handed Sam a cup of coffee. But she really wanted to know what was going on outside, the curiosity was killing her. "Will you keep looking that over? I'm going to go see if I can help, I'm so tired of looking at that map."

"Oh yeah sure, go on ahead. If I find anything, I'll grab you."

She nodded and headed outside. Closing the door firmly behind her, she snuck out into the junkyard. It wasn't that hard to find the two men since she could hear their voices, it was just too hard to make out what they were actually saying. Lucy paused, hiding behind an old burnt out car when she heard Bobby say, "you made a deal. For Sam, didn't you? How long they give you?"

"Bobby-"

She could barely see them and cursed herself inwardly for being too short. Standing on her tiptoes allowed her to see a little bit more. Bobby was very nearly in Dean's voice, asking him again how long they had given Dean. She felt cold all over again, like she had when they'd been stuck in Cold Oak. It only got worse as she heard Dean reply with a quiet, "one year."

Lucy was pretty sure her heart stopped at that point. She leaned back heavily against the rusted, burnt door of the car and sank down onto her backside. One year? He'd traded his life for Sam's for one measly year? She stood up, suddenly angry as hell at Dean. Stalking around the car, both men were a little surprised when she came towards him. She growled and shoved Dean backwards as hard as she could. "You made a deal with a demon!?"

"Lucy, I-"

She didn't give him a chance to answer or explain because really, how could he? He could justify himself all day long but she wouldn't hear it. She couldn't. Of course she knew she was second to Sam. They were all each other had left in real family. But she'd liked to think that maybe she mattered just a little bit. He sure acted like it when he came into her hotel room all those times. She let out another growl that didn't even sound like it was coming from her. She punched him with as much power as she could muster. Dean held onto his jaw, feeling much like the kid who had wounded her heart all those years ago. He recognized the look in her eyes and found he couldn't look at her anymore. It wasn't just his jaw that was hurting. She was gone in a flash, running back towards the house. Bobby thought about going after her, as did Dean but both men froze when they heard movement a few feet away.

* * *

Lucy sat stone silent next to Sam, watching as Bobby filled a shot glass full of holy water and slid it across the table towards Ellen. Dean and Bobby had found her out in the junkyard and while they all wanted to believe that it was really _her_, Bobby wasn't taking any chances.

She had yet to even look at Dean since she found out what he'd done. Her hand throbbed but she ignored it, clenching her jaw as she watched Ellen down the shot. When she didn't go up in flames, they all relaxed just a bit. "Whiskey now, if you don't mind." She said as she slid the shot glass back towards him.

"Ellen, what happened? How'd you get out?" Dean stole a glance at Lucy but she wouldn't look at him. He couldn't blame her, to be honest.

Ellen started to explain how she was actually supposed to be in the Roadhouse with everyone else, but she'd gone out to pick up more pretzels. Of all things to run out of but at least it'd gotten her out of the bar before anything could happen to her. "You mentioned the safe?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah, a hidden safe down in the basement."

"The demons get what was inside?"

She shook her head, reaching inside her jacket. She pulled out a folded up piece of paper and even Lucy had to lean in to see what it was. Another map? Dean reached for it and spread it out a little better so they could see it. "Wyoming?" Lucy murmured, not realizing she'd spoken out loud. "What's that mean?"

They all moved then, Bobby going to find a couple of books he thought might help them. It took some digging on his part while Lucy just stared at the map some more, making a few markings with a pencil. Dean tried to talk to her a couple of times but she just ignored him. "I don't believe it..." Bobby muttered as he carried a book in from the room where most of his books and research materials were kept.

"What, you got something?" She asked as he came over to the table where she was.

"A lot more than that." He set the book down on the table, pointing to the map Ellen had brought. "Each of these X's is an abandoned frontier church, all mid-nineteenth century. And all of them built by Samuel Colt."

Dean's head shot up at that. "Samuel Colt? The demon killing, gun making Samuel Colt?"

"Yep and there's more. He built private railway lines connecting church to church."

Lucy reached for a pen and stood over the map. Staring at it for a few seconds, she finally saw what she'd been looking for all damn day practically. Leaning over she put the pen to the paper and started drawing, connecting the churches Samuel Colt had built. Straightening up, both of her eyebrows raised. "It's a devil's trap..."

"A hundred square mile devil's trap," Sam said.

Dean shook his head, "It's brilliant. Iron lines, demons can't cross it."

"I've never heard of anything that massive." Ellen was shaking her head, almost in disbelief. She'd seen and heard a lot of things over the years but this had to take the cake.

"No one has." Bobby certainly hadn't.

"And after all these years, none of the lines are broken? I mean, it still works?"

Lucy nodded her head. "Definitely."

He turned his attention towards her, surprised to find her looking right back at him. "And how do you know?"

"All the omens Bobby and I found earlier. The demons must be circling it, they can't get in. I mean, I'm sure they're trying but...yeah." She shrugged, "just a theory."

"A theory I think is right." Bobby said.

"But what's inside?" Ellen asked after they'd all grown quiet for a moment, lost in their own thoughts.

"That's what I've been looking for," Dean said as he sat back in his chair. "There's nothing except an old cowboy cemetery right in the middle."

"What's so important about a cemetery?" Sam frowned as he leaned over to look at the map closer. "Or what's Colt trying to protect?"

Lucy rubbed the back of her neck, looking at all of them. "Or...what if he wasn't trying to keep the demon's out. But he was trying to keep something in?"

"That's a comforting thought," Ellen muttered.

"Yeah really." She shuddered and slid back into her vacated seat.

"Could they get inside Bobby? You think?" Sam asked as he looked up at the older man.

"This thing's so powerful you'd practically need an A-bomb to destroy it. No full blooded demon could get through."

Sam glanced at Lucy and the two of them instantly knew what the other was thinking. Lucy let out a sigh. "No. But we know who could."


	30. Chapter 30

_AN: Sorry for the late-ness in posting! Again, spoilers for Episode 22- "All Hell Breaks Loose(Part II)"_

* * *

He watched her as she moved around the guest room, shoving her clothes into her bag. He wanted to say something to her, to explain himself. But he didn't know how. He didn't know how to _not _hurt her. He stepped further into the room, watching as she glanced back at him. But she didn't say anything as she went back to packing up her things. They were going to leave as soon as possible but Bobby didn't want to go in without being armed and ready. "Lucy..."

She spun around to face him, shaking her head. "Don't, okay? I get it."

"Get what?"

"I get that he's your brother. I get that he's all you have left in your family. But I wish you would've done something else. I just wish there had been another way." She let out a sigh, running a hand through her hair. "I guess I wish that you would've thought about it more Dean. A _year_?"

"He's my brother. I had to save him!" He stood up and the two were standing not a foot apart.

"And what's he going to think when he finds out what you did? Because you know he will!" She pushed at his shoulder. Her eyes were starting to water and she really didn't want to cry in front of him.

"You can't tell him Lucy."

"I'm not! I wouldn't do that to him, you jackass." Lucy stepped away from him, turning back to her stuff.

"You think I don't care about you."

She kept her back to him but paused in what she was doing. "I'm really starting to wonder, actually."

He moved closer to her, close enough to where Lucy could feel the body heat radiating off of him. He moved slowly, his hands coming to rest on her hips before he bent down, resting his chin on her shoulder. "I do, you know."

"You do, what?" She asked softly.

His lips pressed against her neck and he sighed. "I _do _care about you."

"And what's going to happen in a year? You're just going to...what, drop dead?" She turned around to face him, putting a little bit of space in between them.

"I guess so. Just...let me figure it out."

Lucy eyed him for a moment but she nodded, turning back to packing her things. "Okay. Figure it out Dean."

"Would you quit being mad at me? Please?" He stepped around her, forcing her to look at him. "Please Lucy? I can't have you being mad at me anymore."

"I'm not mad. I don't know _what _I am. Things have been happening so, so fast." She zipped her bag, looking up at him. "I just want everything to slow down for one damn minute."

"I know, I know." He reached up and began to fool around with the amulet he was wearing. Unhooking it, he looked down at it in his hand before holding it out towards her. "Here."

Lucy stared at the amulet and raised an eyebrow. "What're you doing with that?"

"Take it."

"For what?"

He sighed and just gave her a look. "Just take it Lucy. And when this is all over, if you want to stick around and do..._this_ with me then keep it. And if not, then I'll respect your decision."

She stared at him for a moment but took it from him. "We might not even survive all this though."

"Always the cynic, huh?"

She cracked a smile and shrugged a shoulder as she picked her bag up. "Fine. But don't get in my way out there, you know I can shoot as good as you."

"Not going to." He smiled at her and followed her out of the room. He might not get in her way but he was going to make sure nothing happened to her, whether Lucy wanted it or not.

* * *

It was dark by the time the five of them reached the graveyard and got into position. She was pressed up against a tall, thin tombstone. She could just make out Dean's form on the one to her left. Looking to the right she could see Bobby and Ellen huddled behind a shorter, wider one. Sam was behind her but she couldn't see him. She was fairly certain her heart was pounding loud enough for the dead to hear. Her palms were sweating and the grip she had on the gun in her hand felt like it was constantly slipping. She shifted a bit, enough to feel the amulet still in her pocket. She'd thought of putting it on but there hadn't been time. She just didn't want anything to happen to it, just in case things went south. Lucy wasn't even sure what she was going to do. Dean had a year left to live, where did that put them? She froze when she heard the creak of the gates to the cemetery open. Bending down to hide herself more, she could just make out the top of Jake's head as he entered. She had to move around to the other side of the tombstone as Jake walked past and she held her breath, certain that he would see her or one of the others. But he didn't and he continued walking towards the old church.

They all moved quickly and silently with their guns drawn, sneaking right up behind Jake. "Howdy Jake." Sam was the first to speak. Lucy was willing to bet that was definitely the last voice he expected to hear, especially when Jake turned and spotted him. The look on his face said it all.

He looked like he was in shock, staring and blinking at Sam before he finally realized there were four other people surrounding him with guns pointed right at him. Looking back at Sam he said, "You're dead. I killed you."

"Yeah well, next time finish the job."

"I did! I cut clean through your spinal cord man."

Lucy swallowed hard and stole a glance up at Dean but he was staring straight ahead, his jaw clenched tightly. Sam and Dean shared a quick look and she had to wonder whether Dean's little secret was going to stay a secret for very long. "You can't be alive. You can't be," Jake continued.

"Okay, just take it real easy there son." Bobby said. None of them needed to antagonize Jake more than they had to, he wanted this to go easy and he wanted it to go quick.

"And if I don't?"

"Wait and see!" It was easy to tell that Sam was getting fed up with Jake. He wanted it over as well.

"What, you're a tough guy all of a sudden?" He grinned at Sam, shaking his head some. "What're you gonna do, kill me?"

"It's a thought."

"You had your chance, you couldn't."

"I won't make that same mistake twice."

Jake started laughing, the kind of laugh that was irritating to the bone. Lucy thought it would be nice if she could just reach out and punch him, just to get him to shut up. Dean was pretty fed up as well, it would be easy enough to just pull the trigger and end all of this right now. "What are you smiling about you little bitch?"

He looked at Dean, the grin still on his face before he glanced at Ellen. "Hey lady, do me a favor. Put that gun to your head."

They all watched as Ellen did as she was told, the gun going straight to her temple shakily as she tried not to do it. "See, that Ava girl was right." Jake said, "Once you give into it there's all sorts of new Jedi mind tricks you can learn."

"Let her go." Sam's finger was on the trigger and looked about ready to just start shooting at any second. Lucy was nearly there too, especially when Ellen told them to shoot him.

"You'll be mopping up skull before you get a shot off." And Jake was probably right about that. "Now, everybody put your guns down. Except you sweetheart."

The four of them sort of looked at each other before they moved and put their guns down on the ground.

Jake nodded as he watched them all carefully. "Okay. Thank you." He turned and hurried forward, pulling the Colt out of his jacket. Shoving it inside the door, something clicked. Dean turned and grabbed Ellen's arm, pointing her gun up towards the sky just as it went off. Jake turned the gun just as Sam picked up his gun and started shooting. Lucy bent to grab her gun and had it about halfway pointing at Jake as Sam continued to shoot him, even after he fell to the ground. Her eyes widened as Sam fired off two more shots, leaving Jake to be little more than a bloody mess on the wet ground.

Moving around him, she joined Bobby and Ellen at the door. The lock was spinning around and around, with the Colt still inside. "Oh no," Bobby muttered.

"What is it?" Ellen asked.

"It's hell."

Dean reached forward and grabbed the Colt after the lock stopped spinning around just as Bobby yelled for them to take cover. Dean grabbed the back of Lucy's jacket and pulled her backwards before for a moment it looked as if she was just going to stand in front of the door. Dean had enough time to push her down behind a grave before he ran behind the one next to it. Lucy covered her head just as the doors burst open, throwing dirt and debris and who knows what (or who) else out at them. "What the hell just happened!" Dean yelled from where he was crouched down.

"That's a devil's gate, a damn door to hell!" Ellen answered from where she and Bobby were hiding. "C'mon! We gotta shut that gate!"

Lucy scrambled up from where she was hiding just as Sam did, hurrying towards the doors. She was sure Dean was behind her but didn't have a chance to make sure, they had to get the doors closed before too many of the demons got out. She wasn't expecting the doors to weigh so much and even with Bobby helping her push on one side, with Ellen and Sam on the other, it didn't seem to be budging even an inch. She heard Sam yell for Dean and watched as he left Ellen alone on her side of the door, rushing back through the graves. Looking over her shoulder, she could just make out Dean on the ground and the yellow-eyed demon not too far from him. Instinct told her to go to him to help but another part of her said to stay. She left Bobby and went to help Ellen push on the doors, glad when there seemed to be a little give. Too many were getting through as it was but they didn't need to let the entire depths of Hell out.

The yellow-eyed demon had taken the Colt from Dean, throwing him halfway across the cemetery. Dean had landed with a sickening thud, managing to hit his head on the corner of a particularly sharp edge of a grave. He'd tried to get up but he was being held in place. He'd watched as Sam had come to help him but the demon just pushed him up against a tree, grinning at him. "I'll be with you in a minute champ! But I'm proud of you, I knew you had it in you."

He walked over to Dean, kneeling down in front of him. "I gotta thank you. You see, demons can't resurrect people unless a deal is made. I know, I know, red tape. It'll make you nuts. But thanks to you, Sammy's back in rotation! Now I wasn't counting on that but I'm glad. I like him better than Jake anyway. Although I was kind of pulling for your girlfriend over there too. Either one would've done the job well. But tell me Dean, have you ever heard the expression, 'if a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is'?"

"You call that deal _good_?" Dean spat towards him.

"It's better than what your dad got. And you never wondered why. I'm surprised at you!" The demon leaned in closer, obviously enjoying himself and enjoying the fact that he seemed to have the upper hand in all of this. He was going to get what he wanted, for once and for all. "I mean, you just saw what your brother did to Jake. Right? That was pretty cold wasn't it? How certain are you that what you brought back is one hundred percent Sam? You of all people should know that what's dead should stay dead. Anyway!" He stood then, looking down at the Colt as he held it in his hands. "Thanks a bunch. I knew I kept you alive for some reason. Until now anyway. I couldn't have done it without your pathetic, self-loathing, self-destructive desire to sacrifice yourself for your family."

Dean's heart felt like it was in his throat and he was suddenly sure he was going to die right then and there. He was trying to prepare himself for the blast, to feel the bullet tear through...well, would it be his head or would it be his chest? No, the yellow-eyed son of a bitch would probably go for the chest just to make him suffer. Dean wasn't sure how he was supposed to prepare himself but he was trying to stay as still as possible when he noticed a familiar shape appear behind the yellow-eyed demon. A familiar shape that was cloudy and smoky at first before it materialized and his eyes widened. John Winchester had managed to crawl his way out of Hell, wrapping his arms around the demon until it was shaken from the human form it'd taken. The body and the gun fell to the ground while John and the demon fought with John eventually being tossed backwards much like a rag doll. The demon inhabited its human form again and stood, looking around for the Colt. Dean knew he had one shot and one shot only. If he didn't do it now there would never be another chance. He pulled the trigger as soon as the demon saw that he had the gun, firing the last bullet right through his chest.

It seemed to be over in a matter of seconds, although it really felt like a lifetime. The light in the demon's eyes went out, releasing Sam from the hold against the tree. Lucy and Ellen managed to get their side of the door shut just as Bobby got his closed. The three of them stepped back, watching as the locks spun around and sealed the gates shut again. They turned around, looking for Sam and Dean but were surprised to see John standing between them. Lucy couldn't count the years it'd been since she'd seen John Winchester but she knew that's what Dean and Sam _needed_, to see that he was okay. And he'd finally gotten rid of the thing that had torn his family apart.

* * *

The two Winchester's stood over the human form that the demon had inhabited, the wound from the bullet still smoldering. Lucy approached carefully, standing just behind Dean's shoulder until he reached out to pull her forward. "Well, check that off the to-do list." He said, a half smile crossing his face for just a fleeting moment.

"We did it.." Sam seemed to be in disbelief. They'd been chasing it for so long he was beginning to think it'd never end.

"I didn't do it alone."

"You think dad really climbed out of hell?" It had seemed to unlikely when they lost their father and figured out what had happened to him, Sam was sure they'd never see him again.

"The door was open Sam." She said it quietly, her eyes still on where the demon laid on the ground.

"And if anyone's stubborn enough to do it, it'd be him."

"Where do you think he is now?" Right then, Sam reminded both Dean and Lucy of the little boy who always asked questions. He could never get enough answers, sometimes hitting on a nerve with Dean and sometimes stumping the hell out of her.

Dean shook his head, wondering just where their father had gone to. "I don't know." But he hoped it was somewhere where he would finally be at peace. And hopefully it was with their mother finally.

"I...kinda can't believe it." Lucy said, looking at the two of them finally.

"Our whole lives have been in preparation for this and now, I don't know what to say.."

"I do." Dean knelt down to get one last look at the thing that had tortured him for over twenty years. "That was for our mom and Lucy's parents. You son of a bitch."

* * *

Lucy stayed behind to help Bobby and Ellen dispose of Jake and of whoever the demon had been living inside. She had a feeling that the two boys needed to talk. Sam had heard Jake loud and clear as they all had, he had to know something was up. And as much as she wanted to be there just in case fists starting flying, she knew it was something they needed to talk about on their own. She would catch up with them after the cleaning-up process was done with.

"So what are you going to do now?" Bobby asked as they finished up what they were doing.

The truth was, she didn't know. Dozens of demons had gotten out through the devil's gate so she supposed she could stick around and help with that. But on the other hand, she'd promised herself that once this was over and she'd found the thing that'd taken her parents that she would go back to a 'normal' life. Of course normal was relative but she wasn't so sure that hunting was normal, in any sense of the word. Shrugging a shoulder, she felt around in her pocket for the amulet Dean had given to her. "I don't know just yet." She said after a long moment.

Ellen smiled at her, patting her shoulder as she passed Lucy. "You'll figure it out."

"Yeah I hope so."

They came upon Sam and Dean and just from the looks on both their faces, she knew that the truth had come out. "Well, the yellow-eyed demon might be gone but a lot more got through that gate."

"How many you think?" Dean asked.

"A hundred. Maybe two hundred." Sam had seen enough get through, that was enough for him.

"It's an army." Lucy remembered the yellow-eyed demon's words very well. "He just unleashed their army."

"Hope to hell you guys are ready because the war has just begun."

She had to admit that it was hard to believe that the yellow-eyed demon was really gone. It seemed as if it had been hanging over Dean and Sam forever, it didn't seem it would ever be over. Now it pretty much was. And now she didn't know to do.

"Did you know?"

Sam asked it so quietly she wasn't sure he'd even said anything but she turned to face him as Bobby, Dean and Ellen were all talking. Chewing on her lip, she nodded before looking down at her shoes. "Yeah. I...found out not too long after you and Dean showed up to Bobby's."

"How come you didn't tell me? I _died_ Lucy."

"Because I didn't know how!" She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Dean didn't want me to tell you, he didn't want you to find out. And I really didn't want to be the one to tell you what happened, it wasn't my place Sam."

He stared at her for a good long moment before he nodded his head. "Okay. I'm...sorry."

She smiled at him, shrugging a shoulder as she looked over to the other group. "It's fine Sam. I think that we've got a lot of other things to worry about now though."

"You're right." And she was, they had a lot of other stuff to deal with now. A whole new chapter had opened up. Sam was just afraid he wouldn't be able to save his brother before it was too late. He just wasn't sure how to wrap his head around the fact that he had actually died or that Dean had a year left to live...well, less than a year if they were already counting down the days. How could he do something so stupid? It was unthinkable that Dean would d something like that. But Sam knew that he would've done the same thing if the tables had been turned. He wouldn't give up on Dean though, not when two hundred-some odd demons had been let loose and not when it seemed almost plausible that Dean could have a "normal" life.

Lucy was pretty lost herself. There weren't too many things that could be considered stable in her life but Dean had managed to worm his way in. Sam had too, to an extent. It was hard to imagine her life without either of them now. But she was torn now, about staying with the Winchester's and going...somewhere. She honestly didn't think she could bear to stay and watch at the end of the year as Dean just died. She knew that it was selfish on her part and it really was. But didn't she deserve to be, just this one time?

* * *

They all ended up back at Bobby's to be patched up and catch up on sleep before deciding on what to do. Lucy and Sam talked well into the early morning hours of the first day of life without the yellow-eyed demon on their tails. Everyone else was asleep in different corners of the house. But her and Sam wanted to figure out the beginnings of a plan. They wanted to find a way to get Dean out of the mess he'd gotten in. But she must have dozed off sometime after the sun had made its first appearance over the horizon.

When Lucy woke up, she found herself being carried up the stairs by Dean. He noticed she was wake and smiled down at her but didn't say anything as he kept on towards the room she'd stayed in back when she first showed up at Bobby's after her parents had died. He finally put her down on the floor, watching as she stretched her arms over her head and yawned. "You and Sam need to quit worrying about me." He said softly.

She looked back at him, "Yeah but...sorry we're not letting you die in a year."

He sighed and shook his head, walking towards her. Dean put both hands on her shoulders and bent down so he could see eye-to-eye with her. "You can't help me." He wanted to tell her what would happen if he tried to get out of the deal and that the last thing he wanted was for Sam to die again. He didn't want his sacrifice to be for nothing. Even if it meant hurting her.

She closed her eyes but didn't say anything as his fingers slipped under the shirt she was wearing, tugging on the bottom of it. Opening her eyes she watched as he bent down to dig around in one of his bags, handing her some clothes they both knew would be too big on her. He gave her a smile as she changed her clothes. "We still have a job to do. And if that means working right up until my own personal doomsday, then so be it."

"But Dean..."

He sighed, "If a year is all I have then a year is all I have. I'd rather spend it doing my job and being with you and Sam than watching you two fight to find some magical way to save me. It was my choice Lucy. And I knew what I was doing."

Lucy just nodded her head as she finished changing her clothes. He might have known what he was doing but Lucy knew what she had to do. She went through the motions that day, sleeping for awhile before showering and then eating whatever Ellen had cooked up. It was hard not to blurt out to Sam or to Bobby on what she was going to do. It was hard to act normal while Dean and Sam planned on where to go next. It was really hard to pretend to fall asleep that night even though Dean climbed in next to her. His body was warm and heavy as it lay against hers but she eventually decided it was time. She managed to climb out from under his arm and get her things. There wasn't much to grab but she still tried to be as quiet as possible. Dean did seem to sleep heavy and light all at the same time.

There were just some things that she could not do and watching him die was one of them. It physically hurt to think about that and she just couldn't do it. And even though her heart was screaming for her to turn around and crawl back into bed with him, her brain told her to go. Lucy slipped out of the house and into the dark, glancing around to make sure Ellen or Bobby or Sam weren't still up. But it was quiet and it was dark and it was cold. Leaving behind the only family she'd known since her own had been destroyed was hard and she knew Dean would be hurt but hopefully he would understand that this was one storm that just couldn't be weathered. And maybe one day he wouldn't hate her so much.

* * *

Dean woke up long after the sun had risen, feeling better than he had in days. For once his entire body wasn't sore and screaming for him to take a break. He reached over, expecting to find Lucy there next to him but that side of the small bed was cold and empty. Raising up he glanced around the room, thinking that maybe she'd just gotten up before him to shower or to eat. He turned to lay back down, catching sight of something lying on the pillow next to him. Reaching over, his fingers brushed across something familiar. Picking it up he recognized the amulet he'd handed to Lucy and then, he knew. Lucy had gone and it was just another strike against him in the big scheme of things. He sat up slowly, his bare feet hitting the floor with a soft _thud_. Part of him wanted to grab his things and peel out of Bobby's junkyard to go find her. But the other part of him just sat there, staring at the item in his hand. He only had less than a year to live, he wouldn't want to burden anyone with that so maybe in some way it was for the best. Even if it hurt like hell.

FIN.

* * *

_AN: So that's the end! Did you love it/hate it? I was almost sad to have it end. I just have to say thanks to you all that took a chance to read my little fic on here and leave comments and reviews. There may be a sequel in the works after season three gets underway. And well, I'm sure there'll be other fics to pop up in my head. _


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